


Solangelo Week 2020

by Padre91



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Solangelo Week, Solangelo Week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 24,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24836851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Padre91/pseuds/Padre91
Summary: My first ever ship week.  Here are the days and what the stories are about.June 21 - Father’s DayJune 22 - InfirmaryJune 23 - Sci-Fi / FantasyJune 24 - Free DayJune 25 - Nightmares / SleeptalkingJune 26 - GodswapJune 27 - Capture the Flag
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 16
Kudos: 132





	1. Father's Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The male gods come to camp for Father's Day, well, almost every male god.

**Nico**

One of the many days that Nico dreaded was here, Father’s Day. No holiday was particularly good when you’re a demigod. Mother’s Day, no one to celebrate with, Christmas, yeah like Hades is going to send a gift, not to mention what kind of gift do you get a god? Easter, they were in the wrong religion for that one, maybe Halloween would be nice, if Nico didn’t live amongst the dead for so long before. Nico pulled himself out of bed, throwing the covers off of himself. He made his way to the bathrooms with his usual morning bag, towel, soap, shampoo, comb, toothbrush, and toothpaste. Nico made sure to wake up a little earlier today, as it was supposed to be a special Father’s Day, apparently the male gods were going to appear and spend time with their kids today, which Nico knew his dad couldn’t, being the King of the Underworld and all. He just knew that Will’s dad, Apollo, was coming and Will was excited to actually spend time with his father, which made Nico a mix of happy and jealous. He was one of the first people into the bathroom that morning, behind a few of the Apollo campers, which was no surprise.

“Good morning sunshine,” Will said to Nico as he left the bathroom. A smile stretched across Will’s face.

“Why are you up already?” Nico scowled, even if just playfully.

“Wanted to make sure I was up around sunrise,” Will explained. “Wasn’t sure if dad would come when the sun did.”

Nico simply groaned back a response. He was always surprised by how energetic the Apollo kids were so early in the morning.

“Any news from your dad?” Will asked.

“No,” Nico answered. He wasn’t surprised, even though Nico had probably seen his father way more than any other demigod, running a huge domain was a full-time job.

“Well,” Will seemed to be thinking about his words. “We can make sure today is a day for us, with just a little bit of Apollo.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Nico complained. “I don’t want to take away from your visit.”

“Nonsense,” Will said with his usual smile. “Dad would love to meet you and besides, he has plenty of other kids to visit today besides me. It’s not like I’d get a lot of time anyway.”

“How about I get around and we eat breakfast before we decide anything,” Nico said. He couldn’t help but feel guilty for planning to remove Will from getting to know Apollo.

“Sure thing death boy,” Will replied and stepped aside to let Nico into the bathhouse.

Nico then commenced with his morning routine of brushing his teeth and showering. Once out of the shower, he attempted to comb out his hair again. He could never understand how it got so many knots in it from sleeping, but somehow every morning was a painful ritual of removing them. Nico eventually made his way back to his cabin and got changed into a black t-shirt and jeans, his usual attire, and then he made his way to the pavilion for breakfast.

As usual, he grabbed a plate of food, today consisting of fruit salad and a bagel, and made his way over to the Apollo table. He sat down next to Will; the other Apollo kids didn’t mind him sitting with them, considering his doctor’s note that allowed him to do so.

“Any idea when the gods will start showing up?” Nico asked Will.

“Chiron was just saying probably just before lunch,” Will answered, his breakfast mostly eaten by now. “But we don’t have to wait around; we can take a walk on the beach if you want.”

Nico could tell that Will was doing his best not to hide his disappointment about possibly not meeting his father, but Nico did think it was exceptional that Will was willing to go with Nico instead.

“No,” Nico said. “Let’s meet your dad. I’m sure he’ll have plenty to say about us.” Nico let out a slight smile. The two of them had been dating for nearly a year now, but they were still moving slowly. Nico wasn’t a huge fan of public displays of affection, a habit ingrained in him from the 1940s, but slowly Will was getting him to open up about their relationship.

“Thanks so much!” Will said and planted a kiss on Nico’s cheek, causing Nico to blush deeply. This caused a few of the Apollo campers to giggle. Nico gave them a glare, but he guessed his time spent with Will was eroding his ability to terrify people, because it just made them laugh harder, Will included.

After breakfast, Nico joined Will in getting the Infirmary tidied up; there were currently no campers with injuries, so it was a rare day of just getting ready for the next big disaster.

When the gods arrived, everyone knew it. The sound of screeching tires across the ground and the sudden rise in temperature signaled the arrival of the Sun Chariot. Nico and Will ran out of the Infirmary to see a small white bus, the ones typical of airports, pulled up next to the cabins. Mr. D stepped out of the Big House beside Nico and Will.

“Well,” Mr. D started. “I guess it’s time to say hello to the family.” Mr. D seemed to be talking to himself, because he made no motion toward either Nico or Will, nor did he wait for any sort of response before walking down toward the bus.

As Nico and Will made their way to the bus, they could see the various gods stepping out of it. Nico felt a wave of disappointment as the last god stepped off the bus and his father was not there, but then again, he knew it was a longshot.

**Will**

Will had waited a long time to meet his father, his whole life in fact, all 16 years of it. He also knew that he had quite a few siblings to share time with as well. One thing that Will wasn’t expecting was how young Apollo looked, maybe in his mid-20s if he had to guess. But then again, being immortal does have its advantages.

Will watched as the gods moved with their kids towards their cabins. Poseidon, dressed in his khaki shorts and Hawaiian shirt, walked with Percy and Tyson. Zeus, in his pinstriped suit went with Jason. Ares looked like a biker, but left with his group of children. Hephaestus looked like a mechanic, even fidgeting with some sort of tool while he walked with his kids to the forges. Hermes was dressed in a UPS uniform, which was strange, but no one seemed to be bothered by that. Dionysus was in his usual leopard print shirt and shorts. Hypnos looked to be wearing pajamas. Finally Apollo stepped off the bus and closed the door behind him. He was dressed in a yellow polo shirt, with khaki shorts, and sandals. Will’s siblings were gathering around Apollo. Will also noticed the absence of Hades.

“Well,” Will said to Nico, a huge smile plastered on his face. “Let’s head down there.”

The two boys walked down the hill to the bus, where Apollo was bragging about his sun chariot.

“It only looks like a bus right now,” Apollo said defiantly. “It usually looks like a red Maserati, but I can’t fit everyone in that.”

“Hey dad!” Will said as he got closer. Nico hung slightly behind him, trying to hide is disappointment in this day.

“Hey Will!” Apollo answered. “It’s about time the Head Counselor makes an appearance.”

“Wasn’t sure when you would be getting here,” Will defended himself. “Made sure the Infirmary was cleaned and stocked. I also wasn’t sure if you made that stop in the Underworld.”

Apollo gave him an inquisitive look, “I tried to stop in the Underworld, but I got turned around at the gates. Hades doesn’t want to remind the dead what the sun looks like I guess.” He glanced just behind Will and saw Nico. “Never fear though Nico, if you’re going to be with Will, then you’re going to be with me as well.”

The remainder of the morning moved briskly. Apollo got to see the cabin, which was apparently too drab for him, he checked out the Infirmary, not enough nectar and ambrosia in his opinion, and then he checked out the archery range, the targets being far too easy according to him. All the while, a flock of Apollo campers and Nico trailed behind him. Will did his best to stay towards the back of the group with Nico. It wasn’t fair that Nico’s father wasn’t here, so Will tried to include Nico in everything he could.

Lunch time came and all the campers made their way to the pavilion again. All the male gods sat with their tables, earning the glances from all the children of female gods. Nico took his place next to Will. Will made sure that Nico was eating his whole food pyramid in appropriate portions.

“So Nico,” Apollo started as he noticed him next to Will. “Why sit at this table? I thought demigods were supposed to sit at the table marked for their parents.”

Will looked around, the question was loud enough for the other tables to hear it, he could see Zeus look over and raise an eyebrow.

“He has a doctor’s note,” Will blurted out before Nico could answer.

Apollo raised his eyebrows and focused on Will. “Any particular reason?”

“Stress induced powers,” Nico explained. “My powers get out of control when I sit by myself, so I sit with Will, who also happens to be my doctor. When Hazel comes to visit, I sit over at the Hades table.”

Apollo didn’t appear to be buying it, but he just shrugged. “Whatever works to keep you healthy.” Once everyone was finished with their lunch, Apollo announced his plans for the day. “Ok, there are 20 of you and I have until 9 tonight to hang out.” Apollo paused to do some quick math. “So that’s roughly 20 minutes of one-on-one time each and then another quick group hang before the campfire. Sound good?”

To Will, it didn’t really sound good. Only 20 minutes to get to know his parent wasn’t nearly enough time, but what could he do? There were 20 Apollo kids in total and only 8 hours to do stuff in.

“Ok, since there are no objections,” Apollo said. “Let’s start with Will.”

**Nico**

Nico walked with Will and Apollo to the beach. Nico thought that Will only spending 20 minutes with his father was a joke. Sixteen years of waiting to meet your father and you aren’t even given an hour to get to know them. Then again, at least Will’s father showed up. It wasn’t until they were on the beach that Nico realized that Will was walking Apollo to where they liked to hang out.

“So,” Apollo started, clearly better at breaking the ice. “How’s dating going?”

Nico blushed a deep crimson color and Will seemed to be blushing as well, just not as deeply.

“Dad!” Will shouted. “Why?!”

“What?” Apollo exclaimed. “We’re supposed to be getting to know each other. Nico came along with you and you aren’t holding hands or anything, so I figured it was fair game.” Apollo had no shame in asking such questions, having had multiple lovers of both men and women, he obviously supported their relationship.

“Well,” Will started, “Nico and me are doing fine, we’re just moving slowly. We talked about his life in the 1940s and how gay people were persecuted, so we are moving at his pace.”

Nico could feel Will’s embarrassment at having to talk about this to his father. He reached a hand up took Will’s hand in his own.

“I’m fine with moving a little more quickly now,” Nico admitted quietly, keeping his eyes on the shoreline. He could feel Will squeeze his hand for reassurance.

“Aww!” Apollo gushed.

“Dad!” Will exclaimed.

“What?” Apollo retorted. “He’s ready to move faster now; he just needed a little prod forward. So what do you want to know about me? My love life is an open book.”

Nico walked hand-in-hand with Will as he asked his dad questions, purposefully avoiding any questions about Apollo’s love life. The 20 minutes wound down quickly and Apollo led them on a loop back into the camp proper. Nico didn’t even realize they were still holding hands, in plain view of everyone as they came back in. Apollo moved onto his next kid and Will and Nico were left to do whatever they wanted.

“So,” Will said, looking a little disappointed at Nico. “What do you want to do now?”

“Well,” Nico said and noticed they were still holding hands by the cabins; he gave Will’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’m fine if we just want to walk around and talk, or sit somewhere and talk, but more than that, I’m fine if we keep this up.” Nico raised his hand that was holding Will’s hand between them. Will beamed at Nico.

Nico and Will spent the rest of the day simply enjoying each other’s company, talking, walking, and holding hands, regardless of what anyone else thought about them.


	2. Infirmary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico suffers a dark wound, Will pushes himself to the edge to heal him.

Will was having a pretty quiet day in the Infirmary, no new patients, no traumas, just your run of the mill allergies or slight burns and cuts. No new quests or prophecies in a while either, which was strange, but that’s why Chiron sent Jason, Percy, and Nico to investigate. Will was slightly worried for all of them, especially Nico, who Will had now been dating for a month now, but no more than the usual worry. As he paged through the inventory lists, he heard a commotion outside, steadily growing louder.

“Will!” Will recognized the voice as Percy’s yelling from outside. “Help!”

Will sprang to his feet and ran for the front door, when he opened it his heart dropped to the floor. Percy and Jason each had an arm slung over their shoulder, practically carrying Nico between them. They had gathered a large crowd of campers, most notably Annabeth and Piper, all wondering what had happened. Will noticed that Nico’s black shirt was stained with blood and an arrow was sticking out from the right side of his chest.

“Get him inside!” Will shouted, his voice breaking up with emotion. “What happened?”

“Another demigod,” Percy explained as they moved into the Infirmary. “We didn’t recognize them, but they attacked us with the help of Cyclopes.” Percy and Jason laid Nico down on a bed in the Infirmary. Chiron made his way into the Infirmary.

“Everyone give Nico some room!” Chiron shouted, causing the curious campers to back off and wait outside the Infirmary doors, everyone except Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Percy, and Will. “That arrow’s going to need to come out. Jason, Percy, can you sit Nico up while we push it through?”

Jason and Percy each gently moved Nico to the sitting position. Annabeth prepared some clean bandages while Piper got a bowl of clean water. Will broke the arrow in half, making sure to snap the fletching off. That’s when Will noticed that Nico didn’t even react to all this commotion or the pain he should have been feeling.

“Something’s wrong,” Will said. “This blood loss isn’t enough for him to be out like this, and he should have been able to feel that.”

“One thing at a time,” Chiron reassured Will. “You push the arrow through and I’ll grab it from the other end, just in case something is wrong.”

Will took a deep breath and pushed the arrow through Nico’s shoulder. Chiron grabbed it from the other end, once the tip passed and some of the shaft came through. Nico didn’t make a sound or even resist the action. Will worked to get Nico’s shirt off to better see the damage, then Jason and Percy laid Nico down so he was on his left side. Annabeth gave Will the clean bandages and Piper lined up the bowl of clean water to clean the wound. Chiron sniffed the arrowhead.

“Di immortales,” Chiron muttered to himself.

“What is it?” Will asked, panic rising in his voice.

“The Poison of Nessus,” Chiron said grimly. “Nectar and Ambrosia are useless against it; the only cure is with vitakinesis. Will, being the most skilled healer, you’ll have to do it. I’ll have some of your siblings come and watch the Infirmary for you.” Chiron turned and moved toward the Apollo cabin, taking the poisoned arrowhead with him.

“Do you need anything?” Piper asked Will.

“Just some space,” Will said. “Maybe a bottle of water if I’m going to be singing healing hymns for the day.”

“Sure thing,” Piper replied. She grabbed him a bottle of water and made sure to shoo the others out the door.

“You’re not dying on me di Angelo,” Will said and placed a hand on both sides of the wound. He began to sing the healing hymns of his father.

Will kept on quietly singing, not paying attention to the time that passed by, only stopping for a few minutes here and there to run to the bathroom, grab a drink of water, or eat a little bit of food. He could feel his power flowing from his voice, through his core, and down his arms into Nico’s body. Nico’s breathing was shallow and uneven, his skin was cool to the touch, and he was completely unresponsive to anything. Will even noticed that the wound was very slow in closing, much slower than any other wound he was use to healing. Will’s hands were still slick with blood, the flow was much slower now, but it still hadn’t stopped.

“Hey Will,” Austin said. He came up behind Will and placed a hand on his shoulder. “You’ve been at that for 6 hours, you need to rest.” Austin’s voice was laden with worry.

“I’ve got this,” Will croaked out. He cleared his throat and took a drink of water. “I’m the most experienced healer,” he spoke much more clearly this time, “I’ve almost got his bleeding stopped, once that’s done, I’ll look at taking a break.”

Austin grimly nodded his head and left Will to tend to Nico’s wounds. Will’s sister, Kayla, stopped by a little while later and dropped off supper for Will, a plate with a salad, an apple, a cheeseburger, and a can of soda. He completely ignored his food and kept on singing in order to heal Nico.

It wasn’t until the next time he paused to run to the bathroom that Will noticed that he didn’t have any fresh blood on his hands. Will looked up at the clock in the bathroom; it was nearly 2 in the morning. Will had been working to heal Nico for nearly 13 hours now. He could tell that his voice was tired, his hands and arms hurt, and he was starving and exhausted, but he had a patient to save. No, he didn’t just have a patient to save; he had to save his boyfriend. Nico was at least out of the woods from bleeding to death, but Will could still feel the presence of the poison within him. He made his way back to Nico’s bedside, taking a quick sip of water and clearing his throat. He began his healing song again, still with his hands on the wound, which now looked like scar tissue, but still red and fresh.

“You need to take a break,” Piper said as she arrived. “Breakfast is still going on and you can let your siblings take care of him.”

“I’m fine,” Will croaked out, pausing his singing to do so. He began his song back up again, his limbs feeling like they were on fire from being stuck in the same position for nearly a whole day.

“I’m going to get you breakfast,” Piper said matter-of-factly. She glanced over and saw his uneaten dinner from the night before. “I’m also bringing your siblings to give him a once over, plus Annabeth to talk some sense into you.” She walked over and picked up his uneaten food, leaving the unopen soda can where it was. “So help me if you don’t eat the breakfast I bring back, I’ll charmspeak you into taking a break.” With that she walked out of the Infirmary.

A few minutes past and Piper returned with a new plate of food, fruit salad and a bagel, and a new bottle of water. Behind her were Annabeth, Percy, Jason, and Austin. Austin walked over to Will and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Ok Will,” Austin said. “It’s my turn to do some healing.” He gently pulled Will away from the still unconscious Nico and pushed him toward the group of waiting demigods. Austin then sat down and began his own healing song for Nico.

Will drug his feet in walking over to his group of friends. He sat on an empty bed in the Infirmary, Percy to his right, Annabeth on the other side of Percy, Piper and Jason sat on a bed opposite of them. Piper sat the plate of food in Will’s lap. Everyone sat quietly for a few minutes while Will picked a few pieces of fruit up with his fingers and ate them slowly. His throat burned with every swallow.

“How’s it going?” Percy asked, breaking the silence.

Will looked up and saw that they were all looking at him expectedly.

“The wound,” Will again croaked out. He cleared his throat and drank some water, even the water burned as he swallowed it down. “Sorry,” his voice stronger this time, but still hoarse. “The wound stopped bleeding around 2 in the morning, but I can still feel the poison in him.” Will had to stop to keep his emotions from bubbling over. He was usually so good at keeping people from seeing him vulnerable, but he just couldn’t hold it in completely. Percy sat a hand on Will’s shoulder to comfort him. “He hasn’t woken up yet and his breathing is still shallow and uneven. It literally feels like I’m just stopping the poison and not removing it.” Will felt a tear roll down his cheek.

“Well,” Annabeth started, she seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “Knowing that Nico once went into a coma to keep from dying, it’s very likely he’s doing the same thing now. He’s probably limiting how much energy goes through his body to keep the poison from gaining anymore ground. With your healing powers, he should wake up soon.”

“Yeah,” Piper chimed in. “We all know that he wouldn’t stay away from you for too long.” She smirked toward Will, hoping to gain a smile back from him.

“I suppose,” Will replied, letting a small smile escape his lips. “But this poison is unlike anything I’ve ever dealt with.”

“You’re a child of Apollo,” Jason reminded him. “There’s no way this poison has anything on your healing powers.”

Will did like when they talked him up, but he couldn’t help but wonder if he could stop this poison. He had a few more bites of food and finished off his bottle of water.

“Ok,” he said while standing up. “Break time is over, time to get back to healing.”

“Is there anything we can do?” Percy asked.

“No,” Will replied. “I’ll make sure that Nico gets better.” Will started walking towards Nico’s bed, but he paused and turned back to the group. “Maybe make sure no one gets seriously injured while I’m busy.”

“Not a problem,” Percy answered. Annabeth elbowed him playfully in the ribs. “Ok, maybe a little bit of a problem, but we’ll make sure your siblings hear about it first.”

The group of them chuckled, even Will, and the four visiting demigods left the Infirmary. Will worked his way over to Austin and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Ok Austin,” Will said quietly. “Make sure no one else gets injured, I got this.”

“Are you sure?” Austin asked, breaking his song to do so. “This poison seems very stubborn.”

“I’m sure,” Will replied. He knew the poison was going to fight him tooth and nail for Nico, but he also knew that he was going to win this fight. “Now enjoy the day while there are no other injured.” Will smirked at him and watched as Austin left the Infirmary. He sat down next to Nico again and placed his hands on the wound. He began another quiet song of healing.

More time passed as Will kept singing and healing Nico. Will wasn’t interested in breaks for his own self-care, he took a few minutes here and there to run to the bathroom or grab some water, but otherwise he focused on making sure Nico got better.

After 2 more days of continuous healing, Piper finally came into the Infirmary on a mission.

“Ok Solace,” she said firmly. Will looked up at her, the bags under his eyes were painfully obvious, his voice sounded like he had been gargling razor blades, and he had definitely lost some weight, but he didn’t stop his healing song. “I got Austin and Kayla here,” it was then that Will noticed his two siblings behind her; he was definitely having tunnel vision from his lack of sleep. He also noticed Annabeth, Percy, and Jason were behind her as well, they all looked very worried. “We are removing you from Nico’s bedside and making you get some rest. Percy, Jason, would you do the honors?” She waved her hand forward, toward Will.

Will attempted to fight Percy and Jason and keep his healing going on Nico, but he just lacked the strength to keep them at bay, not that he really could have at full strength, but he at least would have put up a better fight. When Percy and Jason got him to his feet, he realized that his world was spinning, he felt very lightheaded, and his vision started to narrow. He passed out while Percy and Jason were attempting to walk out the Infirmary doors with him.

Will felt a slight pressure on his right hand. He groggily blinked his eyes open and saw lights above him. He recognized those lights; they were the ones in the Infirmary, but they weren’t all on, so it must have been nighttime. He leaned his head forward to look down at his right hand; he saw another hand laced into his hand. He followed the arm of the other person to the bed that was pushed up against his and saw that Nico was the one holding his hand.

“You’re such a hypocrite,” Nico deadpanned as they locked eyes with each other.

Will opened his mouth to speak, but nothing but a strange hoarse croak came out.

“Well,” Nico said. “Since you can’t talk, I’ll keep going. You always tell me not to overexert myself with my powers. You always tell me to make sure to take breaks if I’m feeling tired. You always tell me to eat a balanced diet.”

As Nico talked, tears welled up in Will’s eyes. He rolled onto his side and used his left arm to swing over Nico and pull him close. He hugged Nico tightly, resting Nico’s head into his chest and tilting his head on top of Nico’s head.

“I’m fine,” Nico said as he also brought his arm around Will for a hug. “Your healing did the trick. While I usually don’t like all this touching, I guess I can make an exception for the person who saved my life.” Nico smirked to himself and blushed fiercely.

Will laughed slightly, not very audibly since he couldn’t talk. He could feel Nico’s face grow warm, which was easy to tell since he was cool to the touch not too long ago. Will kissed the top of Nico’s head, which only made Nico blush harder. The moment was perfect, so naturally it was broken by Will’s stomach as it complained to be fed.

“See,” Nico chuckled. “You need to eat every once in a while.” Nico broke off the hug and rolled over to his bedside table to grab a yogurt cup and spoon. “They told me your voice was going out, so I had them leave this for you.” He handed Will the yogurt and spoon.

Will and Nico pushed themselves up so they could sit in the beds with their backs against the headboards. Will ate slowly, every swallow still painful. Nico sat there quietly as Will ate.

“So,” Will croaked out. “How long was I out?”

“Almost a whole day,” Nico informed him. “I woke up just before dinner and they said you passed out around breakfast. Now no more talking, you need to rest your voice.” Nico reached for the bedside table again and got Will a bottle of water and applesauce. “Once you eat a little more, we’re going back to sleep, I’m sure we’ll have visitors tomorrow.”

Will ate his food and drank his whole bottle of water. The two of them laid back down and laid next to each other, holding hands again. Nico rested his head against Will’s shoulder.

“How did you manage the beds being pushed together?” Will asked with a stronger voice than before.

“I had Jason do it for me,” Nico explained. “I said I could do it myself, but he insisted on doing it for me.”

Will chuckled and planted another kiss on the top of Nico’s head.

“I love you death boy,” he whispered as he felt fatigue start to take him.

“I love you too Solace,” Nico replied softly.

The two of them drifted off to sleep in the Infirmary that night.


	3. Sci Fi/Fantasy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nico's love of Mythomagic pushes him to explore Dungeons and Dragons, with Will's help of course.

Nico had been browsing the camp store with Will, not that he really needed anything, but since he was going to actually spend time at camp, he thought maybe he should get to know what was around here. Nico saw the packs of Mythomagic sitting behind a glass display case in the store.

“I use to really be into that game,” he said casually as Will looked at some music books.

“Really?” Will asked, coming over to look at the packs of cards. “I never pegged you for a card game type.”

“Yeah,” Nico sighed. “It was fun, but no one else was really into it when I was, so I mainly collected the cards and didn’t really play that much. Maybe there’s another game like it but for groups of people.” Nico poked around the store some more, looking for another game.

“Have you heard of Dungeons and Dragons?” Travis Stoll asked from behind the counter.

“No,” Nico deadpanned.

“Kind of,” Will answered. “Isn’t that the tabletop game with dice and stuff?”

“It is,” Travis said and bent down to pick up a box. “This here is the newest edition of D&D, which is Dungeons and Dragons for short. It isn’t supposed to come out for a couple of years, but seeing as dad’s the god of thieves…” Travis sort of let the thought finish itself.

“And how much for the ‘acquired’ goods?” Nico asked.

“For the heroes that helped defeat Gaea,” Travis started, “we’ll say 20 drachma.”

“That seems a bit…” Nico started to protest.

“Sold!” Will jumped in, pulling the drachma out of his pocket and placing them on the counter. He scooped up the box and made his way out of the store.

“Thanks for your business,” Travis said and bid them a good day.

Nico followed behind Will, happy that Will was so eager to learn a new game with him, but a little annoyed that Will just jumped in like that.

“He was charging a lot of money for stolen goods,” Nico said to Will.

“You wanted a group game,” Will said with a huge smile on his face. “Now I bought you one, now we just need a group.”

Nico had no idea who to ask, he didn’t really want to drag people into a game with him that he wasn’t sure he would even like. He thought to himself silently as they walked to the Hades cabin.

“Tell you what,” Will said, breaking the silence. “I’ll get a group together; you spend some time reading the books to see how the game works.” Nico simply nodded, opening the door for Will and then took the box to head inside. “See you in a bit sunshine.” Will turned on his heels and walked off toward the training arena.

Nico sat on his bed and began reading the books, starting with the Player’s Handbook; page after page of information was absorbed in a matter of minutes. Since the game wasn’t even released yet, there were only three books in the box, The Player’s Handbook, The Dungeon Master’s Guide, and The Monster Manual. There were also several bags of oddly shaped dice, mechanical pencils, graph paper, and lined paper. Nico must have been deep into reading, because the knocking on his cabin door made him jump.

“You decent in there?” Will’s singsong question came through the door. The question was quickly followed by a group of people giggling.

“Very funny!” Nico shouted back, his face heating up as he blushed. “Just get in here.”

Will opened the cabin door and Jason, Piper, Percy, and Annabeth followed him in.

“Found a group of friends to play with,” Will announced as the group of them stared at Nico holding his book.

“You can’t be serious?” Nico asked Will, not even caring if the others could hear him.

“Nico,” Annabeth said. “Will said you wanted a game to play with the group, we are more than happy to try it out.”

“Yeah,” Percy joined in. “From the sounds of it, I can be a hero all over again and not actually get injured in real life.” Annabeth elbowed him in the ribs and he let out a grunt. “Or I can just be another hero at the table.”

“Don’t worry Nico,” Piper said. “We’re just here to have fun.”

“Fine,” Nico deadpanned. “But one of us needs to be the Dungeon Master, DM for short, they’re the one who makes the story and battles against us.”

“I got that,” Annabeth perked up. “It means I’ll be able to keep you all in check.”

“That feels a bit pointed,” Percy whispered to Jason, causing them both to chuckle.

“We’ll most likely have to actually play tomorrow,” Nico said looking back down at his book. “We actually need to make characters.” Nico explained the different races and classes that the book had to offer and the various roles they played within an adventuring party. “I kind of want to be wood elf rogue. I can work behind the scenes and get bonus damage if my enemy can’t see me.”

“Cool,” Will said. He thought for a moment, “I want to be a wood elf ranger.”

“We don’t have to be the same race,” Nico added.

“Not the point death boy,” Will replied with a devilish grin. “Rangers are all about nature and wood elves get that camouflage with nature, allowing us to both be stealthy if needed. Plus with their natural perception, I can be a scouting unit. I’m also not really good with a bow myself, so I want to play a hero who is.”

“You’re good with a bow now,” Nico chided.

“Not as good as my siblings,” Will rolled his eyes. “I’m much more of a healer in real life anyway, I can have a little healing as a ranger as well.”

“I’ll be the healer,” Piper chimed in. “I guess that’s called the cleric, right?”

“Yep,” Nico answered.

“Ok, I guess I’ll be a human though,” Piper added. “Not too sure about getting too involved into the rules right out of the gate.”

“I’ll be tiefling wizard,” Percy said excitedly. “Half-human, half-devil, all brains. Annabeth will have a hard time keeping my character down.” He grinned a big dumb grin at Annabeth.

“Great,” Annabeth groaned out.

“I guess that means we need a frontline person,” Jason mused. “Well, I’ll play a paladin. It gives us some extra healing so Pipes doesn’t have to be everywhere at once.”

“Thanks Jason!” Piper exclaimed.

“But it also gives us some upfront damage with their smiting ability,” Jason continued. “For a race, I guess I’ll try the dragonborn, the gold one.”

“Then it’s settled,” Annabeth said picking up The Dungeon Master’s Guide and The Monster Manual. “You guys build your characters tonight and I’ll make an adventure. Since we are all experienced with quests,” she then looked at Will, “sorry Will.”

“Nothing to apologize for,” Will said. “I’m fine without throwing myself in harm’s way.”

“I’ll say make 9th level characters,” Annabeth continued. “Use that point buy system for your characters, that way you will all be balanced for the first play through.”

Annabeth sat on another bed in the Hades cabin and began to read through the books. The group of five would be adventurers sat down in a circle and began making their characters, Nico taking the helm, as he actually read the book for a little bit. After about 3 hours of questions and countless times reminding Percy how the rules worked, they all had fully functional characters.

“For simplicities sake,” Nico said after that grueling torment. “We are just going to use our names for our characters. We all have ADHD, so throwing new names into the mix would just be bad.”

“Sounds good to me,” Will said looking over his character sheet. “Can’t wait to try this archer out. Did you need backstories Annabeth?”

“Maybe later,” she said looking up from her books. She was taking notes in her own notebook for the adventure. “If we all like it, then we can work on making a lasting campaign. If you have something simple, just let me know.”

“Just thinking about my character having a boyfriend is all,” Will teased.

“Oh yeah?” Nico asked, trying but failing not to sound jealous.

“Yeah,” Will gushed. “Just another wood elf from his clan. A rogue type who he always went on adventures with. Someone he had a crush on for years, but now they are finally together.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Nico deadpanned starring at his own character sheet.

“He’s talking about you,” Piper giggled. All of them started laughing, not a mean spirited laugh, just an oblivious friend laugh. Nico turned a deep red color and buried his head in his character sheet. “Someone gets mighty jealous.”

“Shut up Piper,” Nico spat from behind his paper.

“I think it’s sweet,” Will said and nudged Nico with his shoulder.

“Ok,” Annabeth said. “I’ll take your characters for tomorrow. I don’t trust some of you not to lose them.” She stared at Percy and Piper.

“I would never,” Piper said, bringing her hand up to her chest to in mock defense of herself.

“I would,” Percy said and handed his character sheet over to Annabeth. One by one, she collected all the characters.

“Ok,” Annabeth said. “Tomorrow after lunch we’ll meet back here and start our game. Sound good?”

Everyone agreed and people started making their way out of the cabin. All that was left was Nico and Will.

“Thanks for getting everyone,” Nico said quietly to Will.

“Not a problem,” Will said taking Nico’s hand in his. “They wanted to hang out with you more and I can’t say I blame them.”

“What do you want to do now?” Nico asked, feeling his face blush all over again.

“How about we just stay in and talk?” Will replied.

“Sounds good to me,” Nico answered. They spent the rest of their evening simply sitting in the Hades cabin talking to one another until dinner, and then Will had an Infirmary shift. Nico went back to his cabin and lay down for the night.

The next day moved quickly as they all had lunch. Soon all of the demigods gathered in the Hades cabin for a game of D&D.

“Ok, you all meet in a tavern,” Annabeth started narrating from behind her DM screen.

“What’s the tavern’s name?” Percy asked.

“Really?” Annabeth retorted. “I can’t get 10 seconds into the game without a question?”

“Just making sure we all feel the experience,” Percy chuckled.

“It’s The Gorgon’s Head,” Annabeth supplied. “A nice establishment run by a former adventurer who keeps the preserved head of a Medusa on the mantel of the fireplace.” She looked toward Percy, “Happy?”

“Very much so,” Percy smiled back.

“Anyway,” Annabeth continued. “You five have been summoned here by an unknown client to deal with a demon problem that has been happening in the sewers.”

“Yuck!” Piper blurted out.

“You are approached by a man in a cloak,” Annabeth continued, ignoring Piper.

Will reached over and grabbed Nico’s hand, causing Nico to blush. Nico turned his head away from the group and into Will’s shoulder.

“Everything alright over there?” Piper asked with a smirk.

“Just roleplaying,” Will smirked back.

“I am in need of help,” Annabeth said while making her voice a little gruff sounding, ignoring the second interruption.

“What is that?!” Percy laughed.

“The book says to try putting on different voices for different NPCs,” Annabeth blushed. “I’ll stop if you make fun of me.”

“No keep going,” Percy apologized but still smiled. “I just wasn’t expecting it.”

“Anyway,” Annabeth cleared her throat to get back into her persona. “There are cultists hiding in the city, most likely in the sewers. I’ll give you 100 gold pieces per cultist ear you bring back.”

“That’s disgusting!” Piper added.

“It’s not like they’ll be using them if they’re dead,” Nico replied.

“I’ll also give you 500 gold pieces per demon ear you bring back,” Annabeth continued in her gruff voice. “Should you take out the head cultist, bring back their amulet that lets them control demons and I’ll give you a magical item of your choice. Do we have a deal?”

“Sounds good to me!” Will said. “Where do we begin looking?”

“There’s an old sewer entrance at the edge of town,” Annabeth explained as her NPC. “Just follow that trail until you find either cultists or demons. And with that,” Annabeth switched back to her normal voice. “The cloaked man turns and leaves the inn. What do you all do?”

The group discussed what their next course of action should be. Percy and Jason wanted to just head down into the sewers and take care of the problem. Piper and Will said about stopping at the shops to grab some healing potions and other items for their mission. Nico wanted to look at the shops as well, just for a completely different reason.

“To the shops it is,” Annabeth said. Percy and Jason groaned, but she kept narrating on. “You find yourself in a bustling open market. The city is a central hub of trade, so merchants from distant lands find their way here. Fine silk garments, sparkling jewelry, fine leather boots, and even magical items can be seen in stands and on carts as everyday folk and nobles alike walk the crowded streets.”

“I wouldn’t mind some silk clothing in real life,” Will whispered to Nico.

“Magic items you say?” Percy asked. “Let’s go over there!”

The group moved toward the stand selling an odd assortment of magical items. As Percy and Jason haggled over prices and Will and Piper looked over the list of items, Nico leaned toward Annabeth.

“I’d like to sneak away from the party and head to the silk stand,” Nico whispered.

“Ok,” Annabeth whispered back. “Roll for stealth.”

Nico picked up a d20 and rolled it. “Ok, 12 plus 5 for my Dexterity, plus 4 for proficiency, plus 4 for expertise, that’s 25.” Nico smiled to himself.

“What’s he rolling for?” Jason asked.

“Nothing you need to know,” Annabeth answered. “That’s well above anyone’s passive perception Nico. You are good to go.”

“Ok,” Nico concentrated. “I work my way over to the silk stand. I’ve been with my significant annoyance long enough to know his size.” Nico turned and stuck his tongue out at Will. “I’d like to steal him whole silk outfit.”

“I’ll remember that,” Will teased.

“Aww!” Piper gushed. Nico blushed again, this time a deeper shade of red than before.

“Ok,” Annabeth sighed. “Roll a sleight of hand check.”

Nico again picked up the d20 and rolled it. “Yes! A natural 20! So with plus 5 for my Dexterity, plus 4 for proficiency, and plus 4 for expertise, that’s a 33.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes and put her face in her hands. “With a natural 20 and going above a 30, you find the nicest quality silk outfit the stand has to offer. Easily worth 10,000 gold pieces, and designed in bright colors.”

“Ok,” Nico said smiling to himself. “I make my way back to the group, tucking the new outfit in my backpack.”

“How come you’re so good at that?” Percy asked. “My sleight of hand is only a +2.”

“You’re a wizard,” Nico explained. “I’m a rogue. Stealing is what I do and my class offers bonuses that I chose to put into stealth, sleight of hand, thieves tools, and investigation.”

“I’m playing a rogue next time,” Percy complained.

“Next time won’t happen if you don’t finished this adventure,” Annabeth deadpanned.

The group worked their way through the market, buying a few items and begging Nico to steal some, which he refused since their characters had no knowledge he could steal that well. The group made their way to the sewer entrance next and peered down the opening.

“Don’t worry guys,” Percy said. “I draw my dagger and lead the way.”

“Percy wait!” Jason called out, but Percy’s character already made their way down the sewers. The party followed Percy into the sewers, trying their best to keep up. “We should at least move stealthily if we want the element of surprise.”

“Ok, I’ll need everyone to roll stealth checks,” Annabeth said. Everyone picked up a d20 and rolled.

“14 plus 2 for my Dexterity, so 16,” Percy said.

“8 plus 5 plus 4 plus 4, so 21,” Nico gloated.

“Oh shut up Mr. Stealth,” Percy chided.

“17 plus 5 plus 4, so 26,” Will added up. Nico and him high-fived each other.

“15 and 13 with disadvantage,” Piper mused, “plus 1 for my Dexterity, so 14.”

“17 and…oh no, a 1!” Jason groaned. “Stupid disadvantage for plate mail. So even with my plus 2 for Dexterity, that’s only a 3.”

“Well the party seems stealthy enough,” Annabeth explained. “That is until Jason’s metal boot catches on a crack between the walking stones. He trips forward and falls on his face, the metal echoing off the stone down the dark tunnel. After a brief moment, you hear the sounds of footsteps coming your way.” Annabeth pulled out a piece of graph paper with an elaborate tunnel system drawn on it, a square of crisscrossing tunnels and enemies drawn on the paper. “I need you to draw yourselves on the map, a circle with your first initial will be fine,” Annabeth gave a knowing look to Piper. “Then you’ll all roll initiative and we’ll begin combat.”

Everyone took turns drawing a circle with their initial in it and rolled a d20 for their initiatives. The combat order went: Percy, Will, Nico, Enemies, Piper, and then Jason.

“Ok Percy,” Annabeth said. “You’re first, you see 3 cultists in the tunnel ahead of you and a demon with large crab-like pinchers for hands. What do you do?”

“I charge them!” Percy shouted and drew himself up on the enemies.

“Percy!” Nico shouted. “You’re the wizard; you’re supposed to throw spells at them.”

“Don’t worry guys,” Percy explained. “I’m one of those defensive wizards, an…adoration wizard.”

“That’s abjuration, Seaweed Brain,” Annabeth rolled her eyes.

“Whatever,” Percy said. “I have good defenses, so I should be fine. I try to stab the cultist with my dagger.” Percy rolls a d20. “Oh man! 6 plus 4 for proficiency, plus 2 for Dexterity, so 12.”

“That’s a miss,” Annabeth explained. “Anything else?”

“No,” Percy grumbled.

“Ok, Will it’s your turn,” Annabeth said.

“Well,” Will said looking at the map. “I imagine that the demon is probably worse than the cultists, so I take out my bow and shoot two shots at the demon.” Will rolls a d20 twice. “First attack is 10 plus 5 for my Dexterity, plus 4 for proficiency, plus 1 for my magic arrow, so 20.”

“That’s a hit,” Annabeth says.

“Ok, my second attack,” Will says. “12 plus 5, plus 4, plus 1, is 22. So my damage for my two shots are…” Will rolls a d8 twice. “3 plus 5 for Dexterity, plus 1 for the magic, so 9 and 7 plus 5, plus 1, is 13. For a total of 22 damage to the demon!” Nico and Will high-fived again.

“Well your two shots certainly got the demon’s attention,” Annabeth marked off the demon’s health. “Anything else?”

“Yes,” Will looked down at his sheet. “I’m going to use my bonus action to hide thanks to my cloak and my racial feature.” Will rolls a d20. “13 plus 5, plus 4, so 22.”

“After you fire your two shots,” Annabeth explains. “You duck off sideways down a side passage and disappear out of sight. Nico it’s your turn.”

“Ok,” Nico looked at the map and then at his character sheet. “I’m going to run down this other side tunnel, then use my action to run again up around this corner, and use my bonus action to move over here. So that’ll be my turn, but I’ll be all lined up for next round.”

“Got it,” Annabeth said. “That makes it my turn.” Annabeth takes the map and looks at it. “Sorry Percy, but you’re the easiest target right now and I don’t have to move much to attack you.” Annabeth rolls 3d20 for the cultists. “Does a 15, 17, and 14 hit?”

“Yeah,” Percy says with a sigh. “Wizard, remember?”

“Ok, get ready for the damage,” Annabeth picks up 3d6.

“I want to use my…” Percy looks at his character sheet. “Shield ability, so that will soak some damage for me.”

“Ok, just do the math as I tell you the damage,” Annabeth said. “2 plus 2, 3 plus 2, and 6 plus 2, so 17 damage total.”

“My shield started at 20 hit points,” Percy did some quick math. “So 3 hit points left! Is that all you got?”

“Now for the demon,” Annabeth smirked.

“Di immortales,” Percy groaned.

“Let’s see,” Annabeth looked over the demon’s stats. “Two claws and a bite.” She rolls 3d20. “Does a 22… that’s a critical with a 24, and 19 hit?” She asked innocently.

“Just roll your damage,” Percy sighed.

Annabeth rolled 2d12 for each claw and 2d4 for the bite. “13 plus 5 for the first claw, 18 times 2, so 36 plus 5 for the second claw, and 3 plus 5 for the bite. That makes it 67 damage.”

“Really Annabeth?” Percy did the math on his paper. “3 points from my shield and only 62 health for my character, means I’m down on the first round of combat.”

“Shouldn’t have run up front,” Jason shrugged.

“Shut up Jason!” Percy spat. “Your failed stealth check got us here.”

“Ok boys,” Piper chimed in. “It’s my turn, so you’ll have to pause your little squabble.” She looked over her character sheet. “Well, all the enemies are clustered together and I can’t risk my own life to save Percy right now.”

“Hey!” Percy yelled.

“Sorry, but we don’t sacrifice the healer in round 1,” Piper sassed back. “So I am going to flame strike them.” Piper reached for her 8d6 to roll.

“You’ll catch Percy in that blast,” Nico said looking at the map.

“I’ll heal him in a bit,” Piper responded. “Once all the enemies are gone.” She rolled her dice. “6, 6, 6, good start, 4, 4, 3, 5, and 6 again, so 40 damage! And a save DC of 17.”

“Nice one Pipes!” Jason cheered.

“Yeah,” Percy complained. “Nice one. What’s a DC again?”

“That’s a failed death save for Percy,” Annabeth noted before rolling her saves. “DC stands for difficulty challenge, it’s the number you have to match or beat to be safe from an effect. 7, 4, 12, and 15, so all failed.” Annabeth picked up the battle map and erased all the cultists. “In your divine fiery explosion, all three cultists die a horrible death, but the demon still lives.”

“I’ll clean this up,” Jason added. “My turn?”

“Piper, anything else?” Annabeth asked.

“Nope,” Piper said.

“Then you’re up Jason,” Annabeth said.

“Ok,” Jason grabbed the map and moved himself up to the demon. “I’m going to smite that demon.” He rolled his d20. “13 plus 5 for my Strength, plus 4 for proficiency, plus 2 for my magic sword, that’s 24 to hit.”

“Go ahead and roll damage,” Annabeth said. “Make sure to take off the spell slot you are using for smite.”

Jason marked off a 2nd level spell slot, picked up 4d8, and rolled them. “6, 2, 1, and 3 plus 5 for my Strength, plus 2 for the magic, so 19 damage. Time for my second attack.” Jason picked up his d20 and rolled again. “Oh no,” his face grew pale and grim, “that’s a 1.”

Annabeth looked at the map and rolled a die behind her screen. “You may roll a second attack roll.”

Jason looked a little puzzled, “ok?” He rolled again, “a natural 20! Not sure why I rolled twice, but I’ll take it.” He went for his 4d8.

“No need to roll,” Annabeth stopped him. “Besides, smite is only for 1 attack per round.”

“Ok?” Jason sat his dice back down. “What happened?”

“As you swing your blade a second time at the demon,” Annabeth described. “You bring your blade down and it side steps, your blade landing into the body of your fallen comrade Percy.”

“Really?!” Percy yelled.

“Sorry Percy,” Annabeth apologized. “The dice don’t like you this combat. That will kill your character.”

“Sorry bro,” Jason pouted.

“That will be the end of the first round,” Annabeth declared. “Time to start at the top.” Annabeth looked at her imitative order. “Skip Percy,” which earned a smirk from Nico and Piper, “so Will is up.”

“I step out of the shadows,” Will described. “And I level my bow at the demon and fire twice.” He rolled 2d20. “6 plus 5, plus 4, plus 1, so 16 and 10 plus 5, plus 4, plus 1, so 20.”

“One hit, one miss,” Annabeth said.

Will rolled his d8, “5 plus 5, plus 1, so 11 damage. Nothing else.”

“My turn,” Nico chimed in. “I move up behind the demon and stab it with my short sword.” Nico rolled his d20. “Natural 20!” A chorus of cheers rung from the table. Nico rolled his d6 for his short sword and his 5d6 for his sneak attack. “4, 4, 3, 1, 6, 3, totaling 21 times 2 is 42 plus 5 for my Dexterity, plus 1 for my magic sword, so 48 damage.”

“The demon screams and topples to the ground,” Annabeth said. “You have successfully completed your first combat.”

“We need their ears for money,” Piper said.

“Can we get money for Percy’s ears?” Nico asked. “He looks like a demon.”

“Come on guys!” Percy whined.

“I’m not that mean,” Piper responded.

Piper raised Percy from the dead and they collected their ears. Once they all got a handle on the session and combat, things moved more smoothly. Nico took care of any traps, Will scouted ahead, Percy actually used some spells Piper used some spells to buff the party, and Jason held the front line. They began working as a solid unit instead of a bunch of rogue heroes. They made their way to the final boss.

“Ok,” Annabeth said pulling out a detailed graph paper map. “You come into the last chamber of this complex maze of sewer tunnels. You see a large snake-like demon coiled around a pillar at the center of the room. All the cultists lie dead on the floor in a ritual style arrangement. Roll for imitative.” The combat round would go in a surprising order of: enemy, Piper, Percy, Jason, Will, and then Nico.

“So the demon remains coiled around the pillar,” Annabeth said. “It casts a spell on itself and emboldens its body with dark magic.”

“I counterspell!” Percy yelled.

“Ok,” Annabeth erased her modifications to the demon. “Well, that’s a wasted first turn. Piper, you’re up.”

“I am going to use my bane spell,” Piper explained. “But I’m also using my channel divinity with it to make it have vulnerability to the next attack. Save DC of 17. Then I’m done.”

Annabeth rolls her d20, “well that’s an underwhelming 2, so yeah I’m under the effects of bane and vulnerable.”

“My turn,” Percy eyed up his character sheet. “Time to try out this spell scroll of power word stun.”

“Ok,” Annabeth explained. “Since that spell is too high level for you right now, I’ll need you to make an Intelligence check Seaweed Brain.”

“That should be nearly impossible,” Nico deadpanned. The group of them laughed.

“Haha…” Percy laughed dryly.

“The DC is 18,” Annabeth explained. “You roll your d20 and only add your Intelligence modifier, so no proficiency.”

“Unless I help,” Jason chimed in. “I’ll use my reaction to bolster him with my aura, letting him add my Charisma modifier to his roll.”

“Nice!” Percy exclaimed and he high-fived Jason. He then rolled his d20. “10 plus 5 for my Intelligence, plus 3 for Jason’s Charisma is exactly 18. You’re a lifesaver bro!” He pulled Jason in for a quick side hug. “Now you get to make your save of DC 17 to not be stunned.”

“Minus 1d4,” Piper added.

Annabeth picked up her d20 and rolled it, “19, yes, minus,” she then rolled her d4, “3?! That makes my save a 16! No!” The table erupted in cheers again.

“My turns done,” Percy announced.

“I’m up,” Jason took the battle map and drew himself on the stunned demon. “Time to smite this thing!”

“Don’t forget your advantage for stun,” Percy said, smiling smugly.

“And the enemy’s vulnerability to the damage,” Piper also added smugly.

Jason rolled his d20 twice, “4 and…yes! Natural 20!” Another cheer erupted from the table. Jason marked off a 3rd level spell, picked up 5d8 and rolled them. “5, 4, 1, 7, and 6, all times 2 for my critical, so 23 becomes 46 which then becomes 92 from vulnerability plus 5, plus 2, so 99 total damage!” A huge cheer goes up from the table. “My second attack,” Jason rolls the d20 twice again, “3 and 9, so I’ll use the 9 plus 5, plus 4, plus 2, totaling 20.”

“That is actually a miss,” Annabeth sighs. “I might be stunned, but I still have thick scales on this demon.”

“Then I’m done,” Jason said.

“My turn,” Will said excitedly. “How is it looking?”

“I’m stunned and nearly took 100 hit points of damage,” Annabeth deadpanned. “How do you think?”

“Ok, ok,” Will replied back putting his hands up in defense. “I’m going to use a spell, which lets me fire an arrow and the next attack that hits the creature is, it is considered vulnerable to.” Will rolled his d20 for his attack. “14 plus 5, plus 4, plus 1, is 24.”

“That hits,” Annabeth sighed while rolling her eyes.

“Great!” Will rolled his d8. “3 plus 5, plus 1 is 9 damage. Now Nico will deal double damage if he hits. I’m done.”

“My move!” Nico drew himself on the back of the creature on the battle map. “I attack the demon from behind with my short sword and sneak attack.” Nico rolled his d20 twice. “14 and…natural 20!” The table erupted in cheers.

“Impossible!” Annabeth cried and looked at his dice from over her screen. The die really was on a natural 20.

“This will hopefully do it!” Nico cheered and rolled his 6d6. “3, 1, 5, 3, 6, 4, totaling 22, which double to 44, which doubles to 88 plus 5, plus 1, for a grand total of 94 damage!”

“The snake demon jolts suddenly,” Annabeth explained. “As if all its nerve endings fire at once. It slumps forward and rolls onto its side, the black blood flowing freely from its various wounds. You all feel the dark presence in this room dissipate and you’re left in the eerie calm.” Annabeth looked around at every one of them. “Congrats on defeating the mission everyone!”

The table cheered again, but quickly made work of collecting all the treasure, ears, and the amulet used to control demons. Jason had his dragonborn character triumphantly exhale his fiery breath weapon into the air.

“The snake demon doesn’t have ears!” Will protests.

“Maybe its fangs will count?” Piper wonders.

“Good enough for me,” Percy replies.

“Can’t believe they defeated my boss in one lousy turn,” Annabeth grumbled.

“What was that?” Nico teased.

“Nothing,” Annabeth replied a little louder.

They collect all that they can and leave the sewers and head back to the town.

“Money first or baths?” Jason asks.

“Baths,” Will says. “You don’t want to know the kind of bacteria that lives in sewers.”

After they collect themselves and gather back at the inn, the same man in the cloak approaches them.

“I see you all survived,” Annabeth says in her gruff voice again, causing Percy to chuckle. She gives him a glare but doesn’t say anything. “Is the problem taken care of?”

The party produces their ears, fangs, and amulet, getting their reward.

“This town owes you a debt it can never repay,” Annabeth said, she then switches to her real voice. “He slips on the demon amulet, says a few words in another language and disappears. I think that’s a good place to end it.” She closes her notebook and starts to pack up her things.

“Wait!” Both Piper and Will shout.

“What?!” Both Nico and Jason shout.

“I knew there’d be a twist,” Percy exhales, rolls his eyes, and throws his hands up.

“If you want to know what happens next,” Annabeth teases. “Then we’ll have to play again sometime.”

The group reluctantly puts their things away, with Annabeth again starting to collect character sheets.

“One second,” Nico says and turns to Will. “I got you this.” Nico’s character hands Will’s character the silk outfit he stole for him.

“Thanks sunshine!” Will says and writes it on his paper.

“Figured you’d need a fancy outfit for our celebratory date,” Nico whispers and blushes.

“Aww!” the group gushes.

Will leans forward and places a kiss on Nico’s cheek, causing Nico’s face to blush an even deeper shade of red. Nico then hides his face in his hands.

“Ok,” Annabeth is the first to collect herself. “Let’s finish this before they send out patrol harpies.”

“Is it really that late?” Jason asks and looks outside. Night has fallen and the campfire is even dying down.

“We missed supper,” Percy whines.

“Don’t worry guys,” Nico relents and pulls his hands down. He stands up and moves to pull out a cooler from behind his bed. “I was kind of hoping we’d all have fun and whatnot, so I planned some backup meals.”

They all thanked him and enjoyed their late supper chatting about the game and how they all really enjoyed it. Eventually, only Will and Nico remained in the Hades cabin.

“Have a fun day?” Will asked while standing shoulder to shoulder with Nico.

“One of the best days I’ve ever had,” Nico admitted.

Will turned to face Nico and planted a kiss on the smaller boy’s lips. “How about now?”

Their first kiss, Nico hadn’t predicted that. His face felt hotter than he’d ever remembered. He just sort of stared up at Will.

“I’ll take that as a best day every,” Will chuckled. He leaned in for another kiss and this time Nico was ready to reciprocate. They separated after a moment, their hearts beating like drums. “Have a goodnight sunshine.”

“Have a goodnight Will,” Nico sighed out.

Will walked back towards his cabin while Nico watched. Once the door to the Apollo cabin closed, Nico closed his door and laid on his bed. He didn’t care that he was still in his regular clothing; he just spent the entire day with his group of friends and had his first real kiss. He was so excited; he didn’t even realize when he fell asleep.


	4. Free Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Nico's first out of camp date, to see a Broadway Show.

“Want to go somewhere?” Will asked Nico while they were organizing the storage closet of the Infirmary. The door was left open, just so people wouldn’t get suspicious of them.

“Haven’t we been everywhere at camp?” Nico replied, moving the boxes of bandages around to try and find a better fit for them on the shelf.

“Not at camp you goof,” Will retorted. He was making sure that the nectar and ambrosia were being cycled through properly; he didn’t want any of it to go bad…if it could go bad.

Nico stopped what he was doing and looked over at Will. “Where would we go?”

Will turned to Nico and could see the gears turning in Nico’s head. “I don’t know,” he mused. “Maybe New York City. It’s close by and there’s plenty to do there. Have you ever seen a Broadway show?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Nico replied. “Aren’t you worried that people outside the camp won’t be as accepting as they are here?” Nico looked a little sick at the thought.

“Honestly,” Will said with a confident voice, “not at all. The world has changed quite a bit since you were young.” Will teased Nico about being the ‘old man’ in this relationship.

Nico playfully punched Will on the arm. “Shut up,” he sighed.

Will held up his arms to ask for a hug, having only dated for two weeks, Will was learning that Nico didn’t care for physical touch, at least not spontaneous touch. If Will asked for permission for a hug or to hold hands, Nico usually obliged, the less people to observe the affection, the better the chance of it happening. Nico stepped into the hug and laid his head on Will’s chest while Will leaned his head onto Nico’s head. They wrapped their arms around each other and embraced. The smell of Will’s body wash was completely intoxicating to Nico, Axe brand Apollo scent; yes the Apollo cabin had that, curtesy of their father.

“No one will even look at us weird in the outside world,” Will said soothingly. He rubbed Nico’s back to comfort him. “But I won’t force you if you don’t want to go.”

“No,” Nico mumbled into Will’s chest and then pushed away slightly to look up at him. “I want to go. I need to work on showing more of myself around other people. Besides, I still want to know what a ‘Broadway’ show is.”

“I’ll ask Chiron about tomorrow then,” Will said. He couldn’t help but smile ear to ear.

The next morning, Nico was in his cabin trying to figure out what to wear. He got a brief description of what a Broadway show was, a stage performance with lots of singing, some special effects, and some dancing, depending on what show you went to. Will got permission for them to see _Phantom of the Opera_ , according to Will it was a Broadway classic. Their show was at 2 in the afternoon, but Will wanted to get lunch out in the city together, so they planned on leaving at 10:30. But now it was 10 o’clock and Nico still hadn’t decided on what to wear. Thankfully he had already gotten a shower and brushed his teeth, but he just stared at his entirely black wardrobe and thought that there wasn’t a good choice in the bunch. He definitely needed some help. He slipped his coat on over his pajamas and made his way to the Zeus cabin. He knocked on the door.

“Just one second,” Jason said through the door. After a moment, the door opened and Jason stood there, rolling up various scrolls with shrine details. “Oh, Nico,” Jason smiled at him. “What can I help you with?”

“Just come with me,” Nico blurted out and speed walked back to his cabin. Jason sat his scrolls down just inside his cabin door and followed. Nico opened the door to his cabin and let Jason in. It looked like his wardrobe had exploded, shirts and pants everywhere. “I have no idea what to wear to see a Broadway show. Can you help me?”

Jason looked over everything and scrunched up his face in confusion. “Why come to me? Piper would be much better at this.”

“Because,” Nico said quietly. “She’d make this a bigger deal than it needs to be.”

“Oh,” Jason said as the situation dawned on him, he smiled at Nico. “This is a date with Will, isn’t it?”

“Maybe,” Nico blushed and looked away from Jason.

“Ok,” Jason said and looked back at the clothing. “Enough teasing for now. I’m happy that you’re happy Nico. Is this all the clothing you have?”

“Yeah,” Nico admitted and looked at the pile of clothing.

“Ok then,” Jason said and turned toward the door. “Follow me.” Jason led Nico to the camp store and looked at what they had to offer. He got Nico a new pair of blue jeans, a long sleeve black shirt, and deep red short-sleeve button up dress shirt. Nico paid for the clothing and they headed back to his cabin with only about five minutes to spare. Nico changed into his new outfit and came out to let Jason see him.

“Why wear two shirts?” Nico asked and looked at himself in the mirror.

“It’s not cold enough for a coat,” Jason explained. “This gives you a little extra clothing in case the building is cooler, it adds some more color to your look, and it’s just the fashion right now. Again, Piper is much better at explaining this kind of stuff than I am. You look good though.”

Nico blushed slightly. “Thanks Jason,” Nico said softly.

There was a knock at the cabin door.

Nico froze in his tracks. He looked around the cabin at the mess that was left behind; he couldn’t let Will see this. Thankfully Jason saw the panic in Nico’s eyes.

“You go enjoy your date,” Jason sighed. “I’ll throw your stuff back in the wardrobe.”

“Thanks again Jason,” Nico sighed, he then moved to the door.

“Any time Nico,” Jason said and moved out to start gathering things. “Let me know how it goes.”

Nico opened the door and saw Will standing there. Will was wearing jeans and a green polo shirt.

“Wow Nico,” Will said with a slight brush coming onto his face. “You actually had things other than black?”

Nico playfully punched Will’s arm. “Very funny.”

Will chuckled, “you look nice by the way.” Will stepped back to let Nico out of the cabin.

“You look nice too,” Nico said quietly and stepped out of his cabin.

“Argus is driving us to the city,” Will explained as they walked to Half-Blood Hill. “Then he’s going to head to various stores and pick up supplies for the camp. He’ll meet us back in front of the Broadway theatre around 9 o’clock.”

Both boys climbed into the middle row of seats for the white van that Argus was driving. Nico knew that Argus could see in every direction, thanks to his plentiful eyes all over his body, but he also knew that people at camp knew he was dating Will. Once they settled in and got buckled, Nico brushed his hand against Will’s hand, who took the cue and laced his fingers with Nico’s. They held hands quietly their whole ride to the city. Argus dropped them off in front of the Broadway building and handed them a small amount of mortal money. Argus then pulled away in his van to get the camp’s supplies.

“Ok,” Will said putting the money in his wallet. “Let’s get the tickets now and then go for lunch.” Will led Nico into the large Victorian style building that was showing _Phantom of the Opera_ and paid for their tickets at the window.

“Those tickets were expensive,” Nico complained as they left the building.

“The show is worth it and we got balcony seats,” Will replied. “So, what are you feeling for lunch?”

“I have no idea,” Nico said looking up and down the crowded streets. “But I guess we don’t want something that will take a long time just in case we don’t make it back.”

“How about pizza?” Will asked.

“Sure,” Nico answered.

The two of them walked the streets of New York City looking for a pizza place, which they found out there were hundreds of. Every couple blocks had its own type of pizza shop, so Will chose one that had more of an Italian feel to it, trying his best to incorporate Nico’s heritage into their date. They settled down into a booth next to the window and picked up a menu.

“They think this is Italian food?” Nico asked looking at the menu.

“Not really,” Will chuckled. “It’s just the theme of the place. Most places that serve pizza also serve pastas and subs, so I guess they wanted to make it feel like Italy.”

“Doesn’t make any sense,” Nico grumbled.

“Doesn’t have to,” Will teased. “What we have to do now is order our food.”

“What will you boys be having?” A waitress stepped up to their table and smiled at them.

“Can we have another minute to decide?” Will asked.

“Sure thing hon,” the waitress replied. “I’ll be back in a minute.” The waitress walked away from them.

“Want to get a pizza and share it or get our own slices?” Will asked lowering his menu to look at Nico.

“We can share one,” Nico answered. “I gotta be honest though, I haven’t had any other types than cheese or pepperoni and I only had those when I could on my own.”

Will’s heart dropped a little, he sometimes forgot how hard Nico’s life was. “Want to try something new?” He made sure to put a smile on his face when he asked; trying to make sure Nico’s life wouldn’t be that hard again.

“Sure,” Nico lowered his menu and looked right into Will’s blue eyes. He quickly darted back to looking at the menu and blushed slightly. “What did you have in mind?”

“How about buffalo chicken?” Will chuckled. “It’s a little spicy, but it will be a lot different than either cheese or pepperoni.”

“Spicy is fine with me,” Nico added.

The waitress came back and got their order plus two cokes. They had to wait about 20 minutes for their pizza to be made, but they were fine with that. Nico stared in amazement at the city. He’d obviously been here before, but never usually in the day and never before in a social atmosphere. Will couldn’t help but stare at Nico, the outfit made him look alive, granted black was still in it, but the other colors actually made him stand out. Both of them were so busy staring in their respective directions that they both jumped when the waitress reappeared.

“And here you go boys,” the waitress reappeared next to the table and sat their pizza down on a silver stand to keep it off the table. She also made sure they got their drinks while she collected their menus. She glanced at both of them and saw their blushes from being caught off guard. “I gotta say, you two make a cute couple.” She beamed down at them and walked back off to take care of her other customers.

“Told you,” Will said quietly to Nico, leaning over the table to get a little closer. “Us being together is just fine, not only do passersby not care, but some of them think we’re cute, which I totally agree with.”

Nico only blushed a deeper shade of red and he just mumbled a nonsensical response.

“Let’s eat before the pizza gets cold,” Will laughed and served Nico a piece of pizza and then got himself one.”

They both ate their pizza is relative silence, a few chuckles from one another as they had to deal with melted cheese or greasy hands, but no wardrobe disasters or spills. They each ate three pieces of pizza, which left two pieces left, but they were content to let it sit there for a little while and just chat.

“I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that much food before,” Nico groaned. He was happy for the food, but now he felt like he couldn’t move.

“Was it good at least?” Will asked as he chuckled. He sat his right hand on the table and used his left hand to take a drink.

“It was amazing!” Nico exclaimed. “I’ve never had fresh pizza before, let alone a spicy pizza.” Nico put his hand on top of Will’s hand, who laced his fingers into Nico’s. “I also think this whole day was a great idea.” Now it was Will’s turn to blush and the two of them sat in silence for a few minutes just staring at each other.

Will finally turned his watch over on his left hand to look at it. “I guess we should get going,” he sighed. “It’s nearly 2 o’clock and we need to get through the crowds to our seats.” Will gestured to the last two slices of pizza. “What do you want to do with the last two slices?”

“Can’t we take them with?” Nico asked.

“Unfortunately, no,” Will explained. “Theaters don’t like when you bring outside food in, but I don’t want to just throw it away either.”

Nico looked outside the window and saw a homeless elderly man sitting on the sidewalk. “Excuse me miss?” Nico called to the waitress over to their table. “Can I have a box for takeout?” The waitress got the box for him and Will just looked at him all confused. He scooped up the last two pieces, put them in the box and stood up. “You pay and I’ll be right back.” With that, he walked outside.

Will payed the waitress as both of them just stood to see what Nico was going to do. They saw Nico walked outside and up to the homeless man, they seemed to be having a conversation for a little bit, then Nico handed him the box with the last two pieces of pizza. Nico held out his hand to shake the man’s hand and the man took it, then pulled Nico into a hug, which made Will laugh. Nico looked like he politely broke off the hug and turned toward the restaurant.

“That was so sweet!” the waitress said and moved to the register to ring up their order.

Nico made his way back into the restaurant and sat down across from Will again. “He hugged me,” is all he groaned out, still looking uncomfortable with the contact.

“You did a really good thing!” Will happily exclaimed, a smile plastered on his face. “Looks like you had a nice conversation too.”

“He’s a war veteran,” Nico said, calming his nerves. “Something called the Korean War, but I don’t recognize that one, so I’m assuming it was after World War 2?”

“It was,” Will pondered. “I get the dates all confused, but it wasn’t too long after World War 2.”

“Here’s your change,” the waitress reappeared and handed Will the money. “That was such a sweet thing you did hon,” the waitress said to Nico. “Hope you boys have a lovely day.” She gave them both a big smile and walked away.

Both boys stood up and Will opened his arms up to ask for a hug, to which Nico actually obliged with so many people around.

“I don’t smell do I?” Nico whispered in Will’s ear as they hugged.

“Not at all,” Will chuckled back. “You never ceased to amaze me sunshine.”

Nico blushed into Will’s shoulder. “We’re going to be late if we don’t leave now,” he mumbled into Will’s shoulder.

Will simply chuckled and the two of them walked off back towards the theater. Nico still wasn’t ready to hold hands around complete strangers, the waitress being different since she showed approval of them being together, so they walked shoulder to shoulder instead. The sidewalks were a lot more crowded now that the lunch rush was coming to an end. Nico concentrated on Will and following him, the crowd was a little much for Nico, so many people brushing up against him. The two of them made it to the theater and got in line to get in; they were told that the stairs were being cleaned from the previous show, so they had to let people into the upper seats in their elevator.

Their turn came up for the elevator and they climbed on in. Will was surprised when Nico just grabbed his hand, but it was a pleasant surprise. He figured it was just because no one was focusing on them with having to crowd an elevator. It wasn’t until the doors closed that Will felt Nico trembling, his hands starting to get clammy.

“Nico?” Will looked at Nico’s face to see his eyes held shut and a bead of sweat rolling down his temple. “Hey Nico, is everything alright?”

Nico didn’t answer Will. His mind was flashing back to his time trapped in that bronze jar thanks to the giants Ephialtes and Otis. The air was getting stale in the elevator and when he did blink his eyes open, his vision was getting blurry.

Will could feel Nico’s heartbeat through their hands getting pretty rapid. “Hey Nico,” Will whispered in his ear. “It’s ok, just breathe. I think you’re having a panic attack.” Will’s heart dropped seeing Nico like this. This was clearly a side that Nico didn’t let anyone see, so Will had no idea that he was apparently claustrophobic.

Nico turned his head toward Will’s voice, which was sounding more distant with each word that was spoken. He rested his forehead on Will’s shoulder and could smell Will’s body wash again. That smell was so soothing to Nico that he just focused on that. Even with his aversion to showing affection in front of people, right now Nico wished he could hug Will, but the elevator was too crowded for them to move too much, at least they were at the back of the elevator so no one could see them without turning around.

Will could feel Nico’s heartrate steadying after Nico turned his head into Will’s shoulder. Thankfully the elevator ride was only a few minutes long, the elevator chimed and the doors opened. The people slowly worked their way out and Will led Nico, still eyes closed, out of the elevator and off to the side, out of the way.

“I’m going to guess that you’re claustrophobic?” Will asked Nico.

“I’m not entirely sure what that is,” Nico finally opened his eyes to look at Will. “But thanks for being there.”

“Anytime Nico,” Will said and opened his arms for a hug. Nico hugged Will more tightly than he ever had before and Will returned the hug. “You good to see the show?”

“Yeah,” Nico answered after a small moment of silence and getting his breathing back under control. “Maybe a drink of water would be good.”

“Not a problem,” Will said and they broke up their hug to find their seats. “I’ll fetch us some snacks and drinks, you relax.” Will left Nico to run back downstairs to get the refreshments.

Will returned with their refreshments a few minutes later, just in time for the lights to be dimmed. Thankfully Nico had calmed down and happily sat next to Will for the show. They ate some candy, popcorn, and while Nico also had his own bottle of water, they shared a soda between them as well. Nico seemed to be enjoying the performance, which made Will happy. When the intermission finally came, both boys went to the bathroom, but didn’t get any more snacks. For the remainder of the show, Nico held Will’s hand and rested his head on Will’s shoulder. Will even leaned his head down and rested it on top of Nico’s head. Both boys were having a great time, but eventually the show had to end.

Will looked at his watch. “Looks like it is just after 5,” he said. “Did you want supper yet or just walk around?”

“I’d be fine with just walking around for right now,” Nico answered.

The two of them left the theater and walked around the city, eventually finding one of its many parks. They strolled through the trees on a footpath and found a bench to sit down at.

“So,” Will started. “Want to talk about your panic attack?”

“Maybe later,” Nico answered shortly. “Once I’m in a better headspace.”

“That’s fine,” Will responded. “Whenever you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere.”

The two of them eventually made their way to a little Mexican restaurant for dinner and had fun trying out different foods. While the whole evening was great, Will noticed that Nico hadn’t really let go of Will’s hand since the elevator, except for things that required two hands.

As their pickup time approached, they made their way back to just outside the theater.

“Good day?” Will asked with a smile on his face.

“Great day,” Nico sighed and squeezed Will’s hand.

“Then I hope these dates can be a more frequent thing,” Will responded. “Just with less elevators.” Both boys chuckled slightly at that and the camp’s van pulled up to the sidewalk.

Both boys climbed in and got buckled in. They then went back to holding hands and Nico laid his head on Will’s shoulder.

“I’m going to have to let Jason know how it went,” Nico said, fatigue heavy in his voice.

“Yeah?” Will asked and raised an eyebrow.

“He helped me with the outfit,” Nico answered.

“I’ll have to thank him for not just getting you in all black,” Will teased. The next thing Will heard was a soft snore as Nico fell asleep on Will’s shoulder. “Guess I wore him out Argus,” Will said to their driver. Argus didn’t answer but gave a small smile. They silently made their way back to camp.


	5. Nightmares/Sleeptalking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will witnesses Nico having a nightmare. This is a continuation of the previous chapter, Free Day.

The camp van pulled up to Half-Blood Hill. Argus turned off the engine and moved to unload the supplies he was sent to get by Chiron. Will shook Nico slightly, trying to wake him up as he had fallen asleep while leaning on his shoulder.

“Nico,” Will half whispered. He needed to wake him up, but didn’t want to scare him in the process. “We’re back at camp.”

Nico blinked his eyes open and groaned slightly. “What?” He muttered and yawned.

“We’re back at camp,” Will said, returning to a normal volume. “Let’s get you to bed.”

Nico sat up and pulled both his hands up to rub his eyes. “Sorry for falling asleep,” he said and stretched slightly.

“Not a problem,” Will smiled at Nico. “I didn’t mind being a pillow.”

Nico blushed as both boys unbuckled and made their way out of the van. By now the campers were back in their cabins, the campfire having ended on their drive back. Nico, still tired, drug his feet slightly as they walked back to the Hades cabin, holding Will’s hand to help guide him in a straight line.

“I guess this is where I leave you,” Will sighed as they reached the Hades cabin doors.

“We could still talk for a bit,” Nico yawned.

“I think you’d fall asleep mid-sentence if we tried,” Will teased.

“Just five minutes,” Nico pouted. “Please?”

“Five minutes,” Will relented, even though he was more than fine with the arrangement. “Then you’re getting to bed.”

Nico opened the cabin door and found it to be clean, he’d have to thank Jason for the help with that. “Just give me one second,” he said to Will and closed the cabin door behind himself. He quickly changed into his pajamas, a black t-shirt with a big skull on the front and black gym style shorts. He opened the door and let Will in.

“I knew it’d be something black,” Will teased. “The skull is a nice touch.”

“Haha,” Nico sarcastically laughed. Nico then sat on his bed while Will sat on the one next to his and they faced each other.

“So,” Will said. “What did you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know,” Nico admitted. “I just didn’t want today to end.” He looked down at his lap and blushed.

“I don’t want today to end either,” Will sighed and put his arms slightly behind himself to lean back. “But that doesn’t mean everyday can’t be like today. You were amazing today.”

“Except with the elevator,” Nico sighed and scratched the back of his neck.

“That’s not your fault,” Will refuted. “You couldn’t have known the elevator would cause a panic attack. Besides, we’ve only been dating for two weeks, we can’t be expected to know everything about each other right away.”

“Why are you always so understanding?” Nico asked and looked up at Will.

“It’s part of being a medic,” Will shrugged and looked back at Nico. “I want to put people at ease, both because it helps them feel better and it helps me help them.”

Nico took a minute to process that info. “Hey Will,” he sighed. “Want to stay here tonight?” Once the words left Nico’s mouth, he blushed a very deeply. “I mean, like, you in that bed, and me in my own bed. Nothing else! We just started dating and I don’t want to come off too strong and...”

Will laughed, cutting off Nico’s rambling. “Sure thing Nico,” Will said once he got his laughing calmed down. “Just let me run back to my cabin and get changed.”

Will made his way out of the Hades cabin, leaving Nico alone for a few minutes to try and collect his scattered and embarrassed thoughts. Will made his way back into the cabin, with a subtle knock on the door and then entering without waiting for a response. Will was wearing a white t-shirt, grey sweatpants, and sandals.

“Ok,” Will said. “All changed and good to go.” He climbed into the bed next to Nico’s. “Now we should go to bed, we both need at least 8 hours of sleep for a full night’s rest.”

“Are you always a medic?” Nico yawned and laid down in his own bed.

“100% of the time,” Will answered. “Sorry, I just like to make sure everyone is in good shape.”

“Don’t apologize,” Nico said. “I think it’s cute. Goodnight Will.”

“Goodnight Sunshine,” Will answered.

Both boys blushed and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Will’s sleep was interrupted by a sudden shout. He jolted awake, sitting up in his bed. He looked around, and it took him a second to realize where he was, his tired mind forgetting he was in the Hades cabin. He looked over at Nico and his adrenaline kicked in. Nico was asleep, that much was certain with his eyes closed, but he was clearly having a nightmare. Nico was almost thrashing about under his covers.

“No!” Nico shouted, clearly talking to some nightmare. Nico moves his arms to be pinned against his sides, like he was in some sort of grip. His legs kicked the covers off of him, attempting to attack his invisible assailants.

Will sprang to his feet and moved over to Nico’s bed. He gingerly placed a hand on Nico’s shoulder. “Nico,” he whispered and shook gently. “Nico it’s just a nightmare. Wake up.”

“Please let me go!” Nico whined out; eyes still shut. “Why are you doing this?!” Nico’s body then went limp and laid there in his bed.

“Nico please wake up,” Will pleaded and shook Nico gently.

“Have to survive,” Nico muttered in his sleep, still not moving. “Just have to survive, they’ll come for me.”

Will didn’t know what to do. He put a hand on Nico’s forehead, his temperature wasn’t elevated. He grabbed one of Nico’s wrists, his heart rate was returning to normal, then it slowed down below normal, which panicked Will.

“So little air,” Nico whispered. “Please get here soon.”

Will placed both his hands-on Nico’s shoulders and shook, not violently, but former than before. “Nico, please wake up!” His voice cracked slightly from the stress and high emotions he was feeling, but he still didn’t want to shout and scare Nico awake.

“They’ll hate me if they find out,” Nico whimpered in his sleep. “They’ll hate me and I won’t belong.”

Will didn’t know what to do. Clearly Nico was a deep sleeper, he did recall Reyna saying as much when she was telling people about their mission with the Athena Parthenos. He had to do something. He placed a hand on Nico’s forehead and began singing a healing hymn to his father. He could feel the healing magic flowing from his voice, through his core, and down his arm into Nico’s head.

“Please don’t,” Nico pleaded with his nightmares. “Please! I need him!” Tears began rolling down Nico’s cheeks.

Will poured on more vitakinesis. He wasn’t sure his healing magic would work for psychological injuries, but he had to do something.

After a few moments of singing and no more horrific responses from Nico, Nico’s eyes shot open. He looked up at Will, who stopped singing when he saw Nico wake up. Nico let out a slight sob and booted up into a sitting position and threw his arms around Will in a vice-grip hug. He sobbed into Will’s shoulder as Will wrapped his arms around Nico and returned the tight hug.

“It’s ok,” Will whispered as he sat down on the bed next to Nico, the two of them still hugging each other tightly. “It was just a nightmare. It’s over now.”

It took a few minutes for Nico to regain his composure. Will just held him tightly and waited for Nico to talk first.

“I’m sorry,” Nico whispered.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about,” Will whispered back.

“I don’t like people seeing me like this,” Nico said, returning to a normal volume.

“I understand,” Will reassured him. “I’m here for you.”

“I know,” Nico said.

“Want to talk about it?” Will asked.

Nico broke off the hug and wiped his eyes. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“It’s up to you,” Will said, putting a hand on Nico’s shoulder.

“I know,” Nico said. “But I think you should know more about me, it’s time I let you in more.”

Will have Nico a reassuring smile. He was happy to be let in more, but he was also heartbroken that Nico seemed to have a lot of inner demons.

“So,” Nico took a deep breath. “I went into Tartarus to find the doors of death. After I found them, I got captured by two giants, Ephialtes and Otis. They kept me in a bronze jar. The celestial bronze jar kept me from shadow traveling out and the lid was too high up for me to reach. The air was growing thin the longer I stayed sealed inside, so I ate pomegranate seeds in order to enter a death coma to stay awake.” Nico occasionally wiped tears away as he talked.

Will couldn’t believe what he was hearing. No one knew this part of the quest, at least no one at camp. He was sure that the 7 from the prophecy knew some of it, but with how closed off Nico was, Will knew they didn’t know all of it.

“I kept hoping the 7 would save me,” Nico continues. “I kept eating the seeds to keep going into my coma. I needed to conserve my air. I knew they wouldn’t fail, but my hope kept getting thinner as the days passed. After that, Jason and me went for Diocletian’s Scepter and had to confront Cupid. We couldn’t hit him, but he wouldn’t give us the scepter until I told my truth. He made me admit to having a crush on Percy.” He looked up at Will and wiped his eyes again. “That’s over now, I promise. But he made me admit to liking guys in front of Jason. I thought he’d attack me, or at least hate me. I thought that everyone was going to turn against me. I know now that this time period is different, but my mind was still stuck in the past. Back in Italy, with the Mussolini regime in power, being gay was a capital offense, people were led off to camps and never seen again. I wasn’t sure how any of that changed.”

Will leaned in a hugged Nico again. “I won’t let anyone take you.”

Nico squeezes Will tightly again. “That’s the last part,” he sobbed. He breathed deeply and calmed himself again. “I’ve been having a different nightmare recently. I keep seeing Hades appear and remind me that his kids never lead happy lives, then the furies appear and drag you off to the Fields of Punishment.” He began sobbing again and holding Will tightly. “I keep pleading with him not to take you, but he doesn’t listen.”

Will couldn’t help but also cry as he held Nico and heard him cry. “I promise you,” he found his voice. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“You can’t promise that,” Nico cried into Will’s shoulder.

“I can,” Will assured him. “There’s nothing you can do, or any monster or god, that can keep me from you. Even if that means slaying whoever would try.”

The two of them silently sat on Nico’s bed. Will letting Nico get his last sobs out, both of them hugging tightly to the other. Eventually Nico broke off the hug and looked at Will.

“Thanks Will,” Nico sighed and wiped the last of his tears away. “Sorry if this ruined your day.”

“You couldn’t ruin anything,” Will replied. “I’m glad I could get to know more about you. I’m so sorry your past has been as rough as it was, but I swear your future will be better, even if I have to kill whatever comes our way.”

“Says the medic,” Nico teased and let a small smile come across his lips.

“Yes,” Will smiles back. “This medic will keep you whole and protect you, not all of us are sword-wielding, zombie summoning demigods.”

“You’d still beat me any day in an archery contest,” Nico said.

“Not by much,” Will sighed. “Again, I’m more of a healer than an archer.”

“Sounds perfect to me,” Nico said and they both locked eyes with each other.

Both boys blushed and sat in silence for a few minutes.

“I guess we should probably get back to sleep,” Nico relented.

“Yeah,” Will said. “If not, we’ll be totally useless tomorrow.”

“You could never be useless,” Nico said and immediately blushed.

“Goodnight Nico,” Will leaned forward and kissed Nico’s forehead. He got up and went back to his bed and laid down. “I’ll be right overhear if you need anything.”

“Hey Will,” Nico said as he laid back down and covered himself up.

“Yeah?” Will said and rolled to his side to face Nico.

“Thanks for everything,” Nico said. “For the great date, for listening to my problems, and for not leaving.”

Will just smiled warmly at Nico. “I’m never leaving you Neeks. Since we’re together, your problems are my problems too and if I can get rid of them I will, but if I can’t, you don’t have to go through them alone anymore. As far as the date, there’s plenty more of those in the future.”

Both boys again blushed at one another.

“Then I think I’m actually looking forward to the future,” Nico said as he drifted off to sleep.

Will watched Nico sleep for a little bit, making sure his breathing leveled out and making sure another nightmare didn’t come. After a bit of time watching his boyfriend sleep, his own body decided for him, and he drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any formatting issues with this chapter, I didn't have access to a computer today, so it was entirely typed up on my phone.


	6. Godswap

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fates are attacked and powers are switched amongst the demigods. This chapter comes off the heels of chapter 2- Infirmary.

Celestial bronze clashed against Stygian iron. Nico raised his sword to defend himself.

“You’re getting a lot quicker Nico,” Percy remarked.

“You could be getting slower,” Nico spat back.

Percy and Nico laughed and lowered their weapons. They were in the training arena with Jason, Piper, Annabeth, and Will chatting amongst themselves and watching the training bought.

“Ok, let’s make this more interesting,” Percy said. “How about some power practice?”

“Let me check with my doctor,” Nico replied. “Hey Will! Percy wants power practice, that good?”

“I’m your doctor not your mother!” Will shouted back, causing everyone to laugh. “You should practice with everything, just know your limits.”

“Wasn’t sure with my poison wound only being cured a week ago!” Nico replied.

“Sounds good!” Percy shouted back to Will. He reached his hand out toward the sound and willed the water to come to him, except nothing happened. He pulled his hand back and looked at it dumbfounded.

“Everything good?” Nico asked, looking confused at his friend.

“I don’t know,” Percy answered. “I don’t feel any connection with the water. Try summoning a zombie.”

Nico focused his energy on calling the dead to him, but no zombies appeared. “What’s happening?! I mean that’s as easy as whistling.” Nico then whistled to prove his point sending an ear piercing pitch through the arena. Everyone covered their ears and flinched.

“Hey!” Piper shouted. “Not cool Nico!” She raised her hands as she spoke and thunder rumbled through the valley.

“Ok,” Annabeth spoke loud and clear enough for all of them to hear her, but not shouting. “Let’s not get emotional, something has clearly happened with our powers.”

“Which should be impossible,” Percy said. “Either a spell went really wrong somewhere or something has happened to the Fates, as our powers are tied to our life threads.” Both Nico and Percy made their way over to their friends.

“That’s right,” Annabeth said, surprise in her voice. “How did you know that?”

“Well,” Percy started. “Tactically speaking, it makes the most sense. Do something to sow confusion amongst your enemies and then take them out before they can regroup.”

“So who did it all effect?” Jason asked. “Should we go around asking everyone?” The group started breaking up and walking in different directions away from Jason, leaving him confused. “Hold on guys, I wasn’t exactly serious about that.” They all stopped and shook their heads as if coming out of a trance.

“You used charmspeak,” Piper said as they all came back together. “So I assume that thunder rumbling was me then. So which one of you got Percy’s powers and which one got Nico’s powers?” Piper directed her question at Annabeth and Will.

“Based on everyone else here,” Percy said. “Odds are Will has Nico’s powers and Annabeth has my powers. The confusion is probably across couples since our life threads are now intersecting.”

“Ok,” Annabeth said, giving Percy a sideways glance. “So we need to see Chiron and fix this.”

“No water demonstration?” Piper asked.

“No,” Annabeth answered. “The sooner we fix this, the better.”

“Well then,” Will said. “Let’s go see Chiron.” Will was standing on Nico’s shadow and yelped as he fell through Nico’s shadow and disappeared.

“I hope he’s with Chiron,” Nico sighed. “Shadow travel is thought based, so he should be there.”

The group of them left the arena and made their way to the Big House. Chiron, Mr. D, and Will were on the porch. Will looking a little shaken up, but intact.

“You never said shadow traveling was cold!” Will shouted as they approached.

“Sorry!” Nico shouted back as they got closer. “It’s not like there’s any sun in the shadows or anything.” He chuckled at his own joke, but no one else seemed to find humor at the moment.

“Well,” Mr. D said and stood up. “This seems like a mortal problem. I’ll be inside and away from all this. Don’t need me.” With that he disappeared into the Big House.

“Chiron,” Annabeth said. “Clearly we need to go and fix this.”

“I agree,” Chiron said. “The problem is, no one knows where the Fates are. I’d normally say your best bet is Nico and his shadow travel, but I guess that Will’s power now.”

“I don’t know how I got here,” Will protested. “I don’t think I could find the Fates, let alone take so many people.”

“I don’t think I could take this many people,” Nico said. “And I’ve actually practiced with the power. But me and Will will take care of this.”

“We will?” Will asked.

“Sure thing,” Nico said and stepped up beside Will. “Can we borrow your bow Chiron?”

Chiron handed Will his bow and quiver. Will accepted them, clearly confused, concerned, and nervous. His hands were shaking and a bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

“Don’t worry guys,” Nico told the group. “Keep the camp safe and we’ll be back before supper.” He put a hand on Will’s shoulder. “Just focus on the Fates and take us away.”

Will closed his eyes and focused on the Fates, or at least what he knew about them, so he focused on three old women working with yarn. The two of them were swallowed up by the shadows on the porch and emerged in the courtyard of a nursing home. Will’s knees buckled and he could feel himself pitching forward.

“Woah there,” Nico said and wrapped an armor around Will to keep him steady. “Maybe you should lay off the Underworld-y stuff,” he teased Will.

“Very funny,” Will replied and took a breath. He straightened himself up. The two of them looked around.

“Those aren’t the Fates,” Nico said and pointed to three older ladies knitting on a covered porch. “What were you thinking of?”

“Three old ladies with yarn,” Will admitted.

“Why were you thinking of that?” Nico asked.

“I don’t know,” Will said. “I’ve never met the Fates, aren’t they three old ladies with yarn?”

“They are,” Nico said and scratched the back of his neck. “But that’s just how they show themselves. They weave fate, so you probably should have focused on fate itself.”

“Sorry,” Will blushed. “New to this shadow travel stuff.”

“Whatever,” Nico shrugged. “Well, while we’re here maybe we can go over how our powers work.”

“Sure thing,” Will said. “Well, as you know, my whistle ability works by whistling. The more will you put behind the whistle, the more potent it gets. Unfortunately it effects everyone around you, allies included. My other ability is healing and that works by touching someone and singing a healing hymn to my father.”

“I don’t know any healing hymns,” Nico said quietly.

“I can teach you one if we need it,” Will said. “What about your powers?”

“Well shadow travel works by thinking of either a destination or a person,” Nico explained. “Summoning undead works by reaching out with your mind for help. Those are the big ones, any other powers shouldn’t be needed, so we won’t worry about them. Feeling better?”

“Good enough,” Will said.

“Uh huh,” Nico chided. “I know how ‘good enough’ works with my powers. You could get us to where we want to go, but you’d most likely pass out when we got there.”

“I guess I could use some water or something,” Will admitted.

Nico looked around and saw a pitcher of water next to the older women. “Be right back.” Nico made his way over and seemed to sweet talk the older ladies into a glass of water.

“How do you always seem to connect with older people?” Will asked and gladly took his glass of water and drank it.

“I guess since I’m from roughly the same time period as them,” Nico guesses. “I can talk to them in terms that they know.”

“Well thanks old man,” Will teased as he sat the now empty glass on a nearby windowsill. “Let’s go meet some Fates.” He held out his hand for Nico to take, which he did and the two of them melted into the shadows once again. This time Will envisioned to older depictions of the Fates, three women with bronze yarn, one pulling the yarn, one measuring it, and the last one cutting it. Will and Nico emerged in a large warehouse.

“You good this time?” Nico asked ready to catch Will.

“Much better,” Will said. He took a step forward and wobbled slightly, but didn’t fall. “Well, better anyway.”

Nico chuckled at him. “At least you’re seem to be getting the hang of it.”

“So where are we?” Will asked and looked around. The warehouse seemed empty, except for the spools of woven celestial bronze piled in in crates. Several large looms lined the walls with celestial bronze threads stretched across them, their threads a tangled mess.

“I assume we are in the right place,” Nico said. “I guess we need to find the Fates to fix those looms. I wouldn’t even know where to begin with that.”

The two of them walked through the warehouse. Nothing but empty rows upon rows of crates and looms. No sign of the Fates or whoever attacked them. They saw a light glowing from the office windows.

“Guess we need to head in there,” Nico whispered to Will.

“Do we have to?” Will asked and was trembling slightly.

“You’ll be fine,” Nico reassured and put a hand on Will’s shoulder. “I’ve done plenty of quests and came back fine every time.”

“Yeah fine,” Will rolled his eyes. “Just poisoned, or fading into shadows, or so worn out you’re practically dead.”

Nico punched Will on the arm. “I get it,” he sighed. “But this time you’re with me, so I’ve got to impress you.”

Will smiled at that, but it did little to calm his nerves. He pulled the bow off his shoulder and knocked an arrow. Nico drew his sword and quietly cracked the door open to peek inside. Inside the office, the three Fates, in the persona of elderly women who in business pants suits, were sitting on three chairs, tied up in their own woven celestial bronze threads. A young man was sitting at the desk, a bow over his shoulder, a sword on his hip, and he was riffling through the scrolls strewn across the desk. He seemed to be muttering to himself and getting more frustrated by the minute.

Nico pulled back from the door and turned to Will. “I’m going to throw the door open and whistle,” he whispered. “I’ll move to free the Fates while you shoot at the intruder.”

“Got it,” Will raised Chiron’s bow and tested the pull on the bow. It was definitely a tougher pull than he was use to, but not impossible. He guessed he could get a few shots in before he tired his arms.

Nico pushed the door open and whistles as loud as he could. The Fates couldn’t cover their ears, but they also didn’t seem very phased by the power. The young man covered his ears and flinched forward. Nico broke off to the left of the room, the same side as the Fates, and ran towards them. Will stepped into the doorframe and shot an arrow at the intruder. His first arrow whizzed through the arrow with a lot more force than Will was used to. Will missed the man, but managed to hit the string of the bow on his back, causing the taught string to snap and recoil, rendering the weapon useless. Will drew another arrow and lined up his next shot, the intruder recovered from the whistle and stood up. He drew his own bow, saw the broken string, and threw the bow aside while cursing in Greek. The intruder drew his sword at the same time Will fires his next arrow, using his momentum to deflect the arrow into the wall behind him.

Nico was attempting to cut the Fates free, but his Stygian iron blade was having trouble with the celestial bronze threads, so it was slow work.

Will reached his right hand and tried his mental calling to the dead. Will poured his thoughts into getting help and the floor cracked open. Two skeletons crawled up from the floor, swords in hand. Will felt light headed and a bit wobbly. The skeletons moved to intercept the intruder. The skeletons battled the intruder, but they were clearly not as skilled as him. In a matter of moments, both skeletons were sliced apart under a celestial bronze sword.

Nico managed to free the first Fate. “Can you untie your sisters?”

“Yes,” she replied.

Nico moved to fight the intruder. Their blades clashed, and Nico seemed to recognize the intruder as the man who poisoned him with an arrow.

Will pulled another arrow and lined up a shot, but it was hard to do with the constant movement of Nico and the man. Once he saw his opening for a shot, he fired. The man ducked out of the way at the last second, but it left an opening wide enough for Nico, who slashed his blade upward and cut the man’s forearm on his free arm. Blood splattered from the wound across the desk and floor, it started to flow freely down the man’s hand. The man brought a knee up and hit Nico in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to double over. The man turned to run out of the room and slashed his sword at Will, who raised his bow up to defend himself. The wood of the bow was no match for the celestial bronze blade as it splintered and the blade cut Will across the chest. As Will fell to the ground, the man escaped out of the office and into the warehouse.

Nico looked up and made his way over to Will, stumbling slightly as he caught his breath. “Will!” He choked out.

“This quest stuff isn’t fun,” Will grimaced up at Nico.

“This isn’t technically a quest,” Nico teased while looking at the wound. It was pretty deep and needed healing. “We weren’t given a prophecy.”

“Silly me,” Will groaned. “Two half-bloods to the warehouse of Fate, I’d much rather be on another date. Switched powers and tangled thread, heal this wound for I’ll be dead. Better?” Will smirked up at Nico.

Nico chuckled. “Ok, that healing hymn would be good right about now.”

Will began mumbling the healing hymn to his father, Apollo, in Ancient Greek. Nico slowly began singing the word while touching Will’s chest. He could feel the power coming from his voice, coursing through his core, and rolling down his arms and into Will.

“Good job death boy,” Will sighed as he started to succumb to shock. “I think I’ll close my eyes, just keep going.” With that, Will passed out.

Nico could feel tears welling up in his eyes, but he kept up his singing and could see Will’s wounds closing up. He finished his song and could see that Will’s wound had closed up, now he just had to wait for his boyfriend to wake up. He stood up and turned to face the Fates, wiping the tears from his eyes. The Fates were all free of their bindings and reorganizing their desks.

“Could you fix the looms now?” Nico asked, his voice cracking slightly from his heightened emotions. “Also, do you know what that man was looking for?”

“I’ll get the looms,” one of the Fates said and left the office.

“We don’t know what he wanted,” another Fate answered. “But now that he’s been foiled once, I doubt he’ll come back.”

“Better get some security just in case,” the last Fate spoke.

“All better son of Hades,” the other Fate shouted from in the warehouse.

“We thank you for your help,” the second Fate spoke.

“We’ll make sure this won’t happen again,” the third Fate spoke.

Nico nodded and touched Will’s shoulder. They shadow traveled and arrived at the Infirmary at camp, startling Austin who was manning the place.

“Will!” Austin shouted and ran over.

“He should be fine,” Nico said, his emotions back under control. “He just needs rest.”

Nico went back to the Big House, noticing the water everywhere by the cabins.

“Percy beat Annabeth at chess,” Chiron remarked when he saw Nico’s expression. “Then he proceeded to tell her what she did wrong. Needless to say, but Piper thought it was hysterical.”

Nico explained what happened and Chiron made sure Mr. D got the report. Nico then went back to the Infirmary and waited for Will to wake up, which he did right before supper.

“You’ve got a great singing voice,” Will sighed to Nico.

Nico blushed, “shut up Solace.”

“I’m serious,” Will defended himself. “I wouldn’t mind hearing you sing more, maybe joining in at the campfires.”

The two of them ate their supper together and night fell over the camp, things back to the way they were meant to be.


	7. Capture the Flag

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A typical game of capture the flag turns horribly wrong and a mission to save a lost love takes place.

Friday once again came and Camp Half-Blood was abuzz with capture the flag happening that night. The teams had been divided, on one side Jason led the charge with the Zeus, Ares, Apollo, Hades, Aphrodite, Hecate, and Dionysus cabins on one side, on the other side Percy led the Poseidon, Athena, Hephaestus, Demeter, Hermes, Iris, Hypnos, Nike, Nemesis, Hebe, and Tyche cabins. While one side had more cabins, the teams were pretty close in numbers, considering Apollo’s, Aphrodite’s, and Hermes’ cabins had more campers than the other cabins.

Jason had made it clear to Will and Nico what the battle plan should be. Nico was to help guard the flag, use skeletons if he had to, but his shadow travel was considered a little bit of cheating. Will was to play the middle ground, best place for his archers to be both offensive and defensive. Both Nico and Will were fine with their placement.

Nico again ate supper with the Apollo table, thanks to his doctor’s note. Then the whole camp made their way into the woods. With a horn blast from Chiron, the game started. Jason and the majority of the team surged forward and fanned out, leaving only Nico and the Hecate cabin behind the guard the flag. Which was perfectly fine with Nico, skeletons and the Mist itself would keep their flag safe.

Will ran off to find his best tree vantage point. Will deftly climbed his tree of choice and set up to overlook the field. He scanned the field and saw Percy and Jason meet at the creek. Lightning flashed down at Percy and a surge of water rose up to intercept it. In the flash of light from the lightning, Will saw another person in a tree across the forest. Just a brief glimpse of an outline really, but they seemed too big for a camper, not giant or cyclops big, just adult human big. Will watched them pull a bow out and aim down at Jason. Will quickly pulled his own bow out and knocked an arrow. The figure fired his arrow and so did Will. “Please father, help guide my arrow,” he whispered to himself. His arrow collided with the unknown person’s arrow with a loud clanging sound as the arrow heads smacked off each other. Jason and Percy stopped their battle and looked up in confusion. “Guys look out!” Will yelled and pointed to the shadowy figure. Then a sickening thunk sound came from Will. He looked down and saw an arrow sticking out of his chest, the same type of arrow he helped remove from Nico. He felt dizzy and nauseous, he slumped backwards and began to fall out of his tree. Jason took to the sky and flew to Will catching him before he hit the ground. Percy summoned a huge torrent of water and sent it at the shadowy figure, who fled from the field.

“Chiron!” Jason yelled, his voice swelling with emotion. Chiron came running onto the field and looked down at Will, who was barely moving. He pointed at a Kayla who ran over to see what was happening, “get Nico!” He then blew his horn to cancel the game.

Nico was waiting for the someone to try and steal the flag when he saw the flash of lightning and heard the crash of waves. He then heard some yelling and then the horn sounded again. “Must be over already,” he muttered to himself. Nico felt a wave of death wash over him. Just then, Kayla burst out of the brush.

“Nico!” She gasped for air. “Come, it’s Will!”

Nico felt all the blood drain from his face as his body seemed to go into autopilot and he ran after Kayla. He came upon an opening and saw Chiron kneeling on the ground next to Will, whose shirt was soaked in blood and had an arrow sticking out of his chest. Percy and Jason stood nearby and were clearly distraught. Percy saw Nico come into view and signaled to Jason that he had arrived. They both turned to face him, but Nico pushed past them to get to Will.

Will laid motionless on the ground, Nico could tell he was gone. Nico fell to his knees and dropped his sword. He clutched the grass in his hands and could feel his emotions bubbling up. His eyes stung, his chest hurt, he felt nauseous, and he couldn’t process what was happening. Sound seemed to become muffled and time slowed around him. Campers started appearing around them, some of them must have screamed, but Nico only saw mouths opened and hands covering their faces. He felt a slight pressure on both his shoulders and he looked up to see Percy on his right and Jason on his left, kneeling next to him and each placing a hand on his shoulders, tears rolling down their cheeks.

Chiron moves his hand over Will’s face and closed his eyes. Nico looked up at him and saw his mouth move, as if asking a question, but what it was, Nico couldn’t hear him. He could feel his own cheeks becoming wet with his own tears. Chiron then reached down and, as gently as he could, removed the arrow from Will’s chest. He sniffed the arrowhead and seemed to sigh in relief. He then looked at the shaft of the arrow.

“Nico,” Chiron spoke to Nico, it seemed more forceful than whatever he said before, it still sounded like he was talking through water.

Nico forced his mind to clear and focus on Chiron.

“Nico,” Chiron repeated. “I need you to focus.” He then held up the arrow to show it to Nico. “This isn’t a standard arrow. It’s cursed. If someone is killed by this arrow, they go to the Fields of Punishment, but they aren’t gone. Since the curse bypasses the standard judgement thrones of the afterlife, it means you can win a contest and get Will back.”

Nico still couldn’t completely process what Chiron was saying. How could that be? The passage of the dead was law, set in stone, he couldn’t think of anything that could bypass that.

“Percy, Jason,” Chiron said to the boys. “Please take Will to the Infirmary. “Annabeth, Piper,” he turned to the girls. “Please help Nico to the Big House.”

Chiron shouted for the other campers to head back for the campfire, but everyone was sluggish to move. After a moment, Chiron repeated his notion to leave at a more controlled volume and the campers slowly shuffled their way back to camp. Percy and Jason begrudgingly stood up and picked up Will’s body and walked back to the Infirmary. Annabeth helped Nico to his feet as he just stared off into the distance. Piper wrapped her arms around Nico and enveloped him in a tight hug. Nico didn’t even feel like he was in his own body anymore. The girls gently turned him back towards the camp and they walked slowly. Along the way, Nico stopped to throw up in a bush, the nausea finally taking over. The girls were very patient with him and were crying silently to themselves. They made their way into the Big House and sat down in the meeting room around the ping pong table. Somehow a bottle of water made its way in front of Nico, but he had no idea who put it there.

“Nico,” Chiron‘s voice against sounded distant and fuzzy. “Nico I need you to listen to me. This arrow was made by dark magic.” He sat the arrow on the table, it was only then that Nico looked around and saw Piper to his right with her arm around his shoulders to comfort him, with Jason to her other side. Annabeth sat to his left with Percy beside her. “My guess,” Chiron continued, “is that it’s Stygian iron and enchanted by Minos. I’m not sure who it was intended for, but now Minos has Will in the Fields of Punishment. You’ll have to lead some fellow demigods there and save Will.”

“How do we save him?” Jason asked.

“With a challenge set by Minos,” Chiron said. “I don’t know what he has planned, but I’m sure it will be deadly and focused on Nico.”

Minos, that name gave Nico some clarity. That old ghost that helped him in the labyrinth, no not helped him, tricked him.

“What would Minos want with Will?” Nico finally found his voice, although he was ashamed it was so laden with emotion.

“Didn’t you use to say he wanted to come back to life?” Percy asked, thinking back to their time in the labyrinth.

“Yeah,” Nico remembered, his mind growing slowly clearer. “But he’d have to kill someone either of importance to him or related.” Nico brought his hands up to rub his temples. “That’s why he was targeting Daedalus before. But Will doesn’t make sense.”

“Maybe Will wasn’t the intended target,” Jason mused. “It could be you he wants, or me. We heard a loud clanging sound before that person shot Will. The arrows landed near my feet, so Will wasn’t the initial target, he just became the target when he stopped the attack.”

“So, Will is being punished for a good deed?!” Piper’s voice boiled out.

“Everyone breathe,” Chiron demanded. “Nico, can you lead everyone to the Underworld?”

“Yeah,” Nico replied, his grief slowly being replaced with rage. “I know the Orpheus path.”

“Good,” Chiron said. “Then take a minute to get what you need. You need to leave soon.”

The group split up to get their supplies. Nico sat at the ping pong table with Piper and then when Annabeth returned with her draken-bone sword and Nico’s Stygian iron sword, they swapped out. After a few moments, all the demigods were ready to go.

“Let’s go,” Nico deadpanned and held his hands out. They joined hands and melted into the shadows, emerging in a park in New York City. Percy had been here before, back when Nico helped him get the Blessing of Achilles. Nico showed them the way to the Underworld. They moved silently, only the others exchanging nervous glances with each other, Nico was focused on making sure the person who killed Will and Minos himself stayed in the Fields of Punishment permanently.

The undead guards could feel the rage rolling of Nico in waves and stepped aside as the group passed. Cerberus whimpered at Nico, but Annabeth scratched his chins as they walked by. The smoke and lava glow from the Fields of Punishment grew closer as the group made their way across the Fields of Asphodel, but they eventually made it to the gate. They walked down the central path between the various torture sections, screams, rock against rock, and opera music could be heard. They eventually made their way to an unused valley with a sign on its chain link fence that read “Under Construction, Keep Out.” The group stopped suddenly when an arrow appeared on the group in front of them, clearly a warning shot. They looked up and saw the unknown demigod from before on a hill, the same one from the warehouse who slashed Will, the same one who poisoned Nico with Nessus’ blood, and the same who just killed Will. Nico could feel his blood boiling as he looked up at him, the ground cracked just in front of Nico, but no skeletons climbed through. His demeanor softened when Will appeared to the man’s left and Minos next to Will. Will had bronze handcuffs on, keeping his arms behind his back and a gag in his mouth.

“It’s been awhile little Hades spawn,” Minos spat at Nico. “I assume you’re quite familiar with Brody Dunn.” He gestured at the man standing next to him. “It’s quite fortunate I found him, as a child of Nike, he’s proven very useful and he wants to prove himself victorious against all the children of the Big 3.”

Brody rolled his shoulders but kept his bow aimed at Nico. Another sinister looking arrow knocked and ready to fire.

“But that’s not why you’re here,” Minos grabbed Will’s shoulder and forced him forward. Nico saw red for a moment and felt a hand on his shoulder keeping him back. He turned and saw Jason keeping him still. “I actually wanted Jason, being my brother, he can give me life again.”

“Not gonna happen!” Percy shouted.

“Ahh, Mr. Jackson,” Minos remarked. “From my understanding, you were all in the middle of your capture the flag game when all this transpired. I’m sorry your game was cut short, but as per the curse of my arrow, I’m supposed to offer a challenge. How about a different type of capture the flag?” Minos gestured to the empty construction field, with trenches dug for foundations, stacks of metal beams, barrels of water for cement, and power tools. “This is a new uh...recreation center for the Fields of Punishment, Hades idea. But it should serve as a fine field for us.” Minos snapped his bony fingers and several figures stepped out from behind various items on the field. Bryce Lawrence, the legacy of Orcus who Nico sent to the Fields personally, Michael Varus, who sided with Gaea and lost the legions eagle, and Gabe Ugliano, Percy’s smelly step-father, appeared on the field. “I have to admit, this isn’t exactly even, but I only have so much to work with down here. Five against five for your dear boyfriend.” Minos reaches up and grabbed Will’s face.

“Don’t touch him!” Nico shouted.

“My dear little Prince of the Underworld,” Minos teased and turned back to the group. “Do you accept my challenge? Will, will be the flag in this instance and you have to defeat all of us to get him. Should you or Jason die, I’ll be made living again. Should you defeat us, Will goes back to the world of the living with you. Sounds fair to me.” He had a crooked smile on his face.

Nico gripped his sword’s hilt so hard his knuckles were turning white.

“We accept Minos!” Jason shouted up.

“Goody,” Minos replied. “Take your positions at that end of the field.” He pointed to the far end. “Once we are all ready, Brody here will sound the horn to begin.”

Both teams took their positions.

“Ok,” Annabeth planned. “Obviously we need to take them out as fast as we can.”

“I’m taking out Gabe,” Percy interrupted. “Gods, I didn’t think I’d have to smell him again.”

“I’ll take Michael,” Jason said, rubbing the spot on his abdomen where Michael has stabbed him previously.

“Brody’s mine,” Nico seethed. “Then Minos.”

“I guess that leave Bryce to us,” Piper shrugged.

“It will have to do,” Annabeth relented. “Once you’re finished with your target, converge on Brody then Minos. I don’t like either of them, but Brody seems like the wildcard here.”

“I still don’t understand something,” Piper added. “How can Minos gather people from their punishments?”

“He’s a judge of the dead,” Nico answered. “He helps set up the punishments, so he can modify them.”

A horn sounded on the other side of the field.

“Use everything you have!” Annabeth shouted as they broke apart and charged into the battle.

An arrow shot across the battlefield towards Nico, but he melted into a shadow and dodged it. He reappeared behind Brody and swung his sword at his head but the older demigod ducked and dropped his bow. He drew his sword as he tumbled away and faced Nico. Nico’s vision was clouded with rage and all he saw was red. He didn’t even seem to notice he was on the enemy hill with Minos and Will barely 15 feet away.

Percy ran towards Gabe, who was making some sort of attempt at a charge towards his step-son. “I thought the lava would help your smell Gabe!” Percy shouted at him as they closed the distance.

“You ungrateful little delinquent!” Gave shouted and stopped out of sword swinging length to wind up his batting arm. “I should have kicked you and your free loading mother to the curb when I had the chance!”

Percy let out a guttural cry and the barrels of water around the construction site exploded. The water surged around them and encircled them. “Don’t you ever talk about my mother! I just wish this was Phlegethon water to burn you from existence, maybe then your smell would disappear.”

Gabe swing his bat at Percy’s head, but Percy simply raised his sword and the bat cut in half against its sharp blade. Gabe looked very concerned now.

“Goodbye Gabe,” Percy deadpanned and sent the water raging at him. Gabe was lifted off the ground in the turret on water and thrown somewhere into the Fields of Punishment. Percy looked up and saw Brody toying with an emotional Nico and ran to help.

Jason met Michael on the field with a trench in between them.

“Looks like you mended nicely from my stab wound,” Michael taunted. He raised his imperial gold sword up and pointed at Jason’s chest. “Once you’re dead, Minos will make sure I come back to life next.”

“Stupid foolish Michael,” Jason spat back. “First fooled by Gaea, now fooled by Minos. At least Gaea actually had the power to keep her promises.” Jason raised his sword arm up and called down a bolt of red lightning at Michael. Michael seemed to have anticipated that and knocked a metal beam into the trench, keeping one end high in the air. The lightning diverted and hit the beam.

“Lightning rod,” Michael gloated. “Means you’ll actually have to fight to beat me.”

Jason shouted and fly over the trench and locked blades with Michael, starting their vicious bought, imperial gold sword against imperial gold sword.

Annabeth and Piper came across Bryce. He smirked at them as they cautiously approached. “Wise move girls,” he sneered at them. “You don’t know me or what I can do.” He crouched into a defensive battle stance, keeping an eye on both of them.

“Actually,” Annabeth said. “We do know about you. Reyna told us how you ambushed them and how Nico banished you here.”

“Gotta say,” Piper added. “Not impressed.”

The girls charged, Piper with her curved sword from the Boreads and Annabeth with her draken-bone sword. Bryce defended himself with his imperial gold sword.

Percy was about 30 feet from Nico and Brody when he felt the air electrify around him. He obeyed his instincts and jumped to the left, just dodging a bolt of red lightning from above.

“Now, now,” Minos taunted him. “Let’s see how this plays out for little Nico here.”

Percy didn’t know how he could help if he couldn’t get close. “Brody!” Percy tried distracting the older demigod, but he seemed unphased by the distraction.

Nico kept to his training and personal experience, even in his rage. He was the smaller combatant, so he had to be quicker. His body trembled with anger, he wanted to kill the man who killed Will. But the older and more experienced combatant knew this tactic. Only swinging when he could clash blades with Nico, causing Nico’s sword arm to tire.

“Bryce!” Piper shouted. “Stop!” She poured her charmspeak into her words.

Bryce paused for a moment, but it was more than enough for Annabeth. She drove her blade through his back, it’s end emerging from his chest.

“See,” Piper taunted. “Not impressed.” As his body slumped to the ground, the two girls ran up the hill toward Brody.

Jason and Michael locked blades. “Getting tired?” Michael taunted.

“Not in the slightest!” Jason spat back. He swept a leg under Michael’s legs and knocked him off balance. He then pushed Michael toward the makeshift lightning rod. Michael reached out and grabbed it to steady himself. Jason raised his sword to the sky again. “Got more than enough energy for this.” He sent another red bolt of lightning down at Michael, it hit the lightning rod again, but this time Michael was touching the beam and was fried instantaneously. Jason kicked off the ground and flew toward Brody.

The group of demigods surrounded the hill, preventing any escape, but with Minos’ lightning power as well, none of them could approach to help Nico.

“It’s over Minos!” Jason shouted. “You’re surrounded and outnumbered. Give up!”

Just then, the sound of large leathery wings came from the sky. The Furies appeared and hovered around the hill.

“Our Lord Hades is most displeased with you Minos,” Mrs. Dodds hissed.

“I am preventing these demigods from reclaiming the dead,” Minos shouted back to them.

“We know you lie,” Mrs. Dodds spat. “We have come to collect you and bring you to Lord Hades.”

“Not until the challenge is complete!” Percy shouted. “We have a deal!”

The Furies hissed at Percy. “Very well,” Mrs. Dodds said. “Your first punishment will be death by these demigods Minos, then Lord Hades will decide your second punishment.” The Furies flew to the chain link fence and landed on it to watch.

With Minos distracted by the Furies presence, Percy and Jason moved in to help Nico, while Annabeth and Piper closely encircled Will and Minos.

The children of the Big Three were certainly a match for Brody, but they could also tell he trained for this moment. His movements were well practiced and he dodged, blocked, and counter attacked their every move. It wasn’t until their group attack that Nico saw the slightest opening. He reached out with his free hand to Brody’s quiver on his back. He pulled an arrow out and recoiled back to dodge a slash. He then swung the arrow down with all his force and pinned Brody’s foot to the ground.

“That’s for hitting me with an arrow!” Nico shouted as Brody cried out in pain. Brody swing his sword at Nico in retaliation, but the pain took its tole on him. Nico brought his sword up inside Brody’s guard and cut his hand off. “That’s for slicing Will in the warehouse!” Brody cried out again, clutching his bloody stump with his free hand. Nico took a step back, and with both his hands, drove his sword into Brody’s chest. “And that’s for killing my boyfriend!” Nico drove the sword in up to its hilt. Brody looked into Nico’s rage filled eyes and slumped to the ground dead. Nico could feel the rage and adrenaline pumping through his body. He pulled the sword out of Brody and turned to face Minos.

Minos was behind Will, with a dagger to his throat. “I said you have to defeat all of us to get him back!”

There seemed to be a slight standoff between them all. Nico looked eyes with Will. Will winked, then he stomped his foot down on Minos’ foot.

“Ow!” Minos cried out. Will then brought his head back into Minos’ nose. Minos dropped his dagger and clutched his face. Will grabbed Minos’ robe, since he was still behind him, and spun forcefully, pulling Minos along and sending him sprawling to Nico’s feet. Nico raised his sword to Minos’ throat, lifting his head up with the tip of his sword.

“Dad’s going to have a hard time punishing you,” Nico said coldly. “It will take awhile to find what’s left.” Nico then drove his sword into Minos’ throat and the judge went limp. Nico held out his free hand over Minos and used his powers to disperse the remains across the Fields of Punishment. The only thing left behind was a bronze key. Nico picked it up and unlocked Will’s handcuffs. Will pulled out the gag.

“It’s about time,” Will started to say before Nico wrapped his arms around Will and hugged him like he never hugged him before. Will returned the hug with as much fervor.

The other couple came together and hugged each other.

Nico couldn’t control his sobbing into Will’s chest. His emotions had been through Hades and back, literally. Will wasn’t doing much better, crying and holding Nico.

The Furies flew off the fence. “The deal is done,” Mrs. Dodds hissed. “Leave this place with your prize.” They flew back toward Hades palace.

After a long moment, Jason stepped towards Nico and Will. “Uh, Nico. I’m not sure if there’s a time limit to get Will back to his body, but we shouldn’t test that.”

“Yeah,” Percy chimed in. “I don’t think you want him smelling like a corpse and all.”

The group chuckled at that, even Will and Nico.

They made their way back through the Underworld, Nico and Will side by side, Nico’s arm around Will’s waist and Will’s arm around Nico’s shoulders. Once they made it up the Orpheus stairs, Will looked at Nico. “See you back at camp,” and Will disappeared.

Nico held out his hands and the group of them shadow traveled back to the Infirmary.

“Took you long enough,” Will teased as he sat up on his bed.

Nico ran over and kissed Will. He didn’t care what the others thought, he had Will back and he was going to keep him.

“Aww!” Piper gushed and Annabeth elbowed her in the ribs.

Will chuckled into the kiss and they broke apart to catch their breaths. Their hearts racing and cheeks flush.

“Ok,” Jason said. “Let’s leave them alone and report back to Chiron.” Jason led the others out of the Infirmary.

“Gotta say,” Will said when his breathing returned to normal. “Strangest way to meet your boyfriend’s parent.”

They both chuckled and Nico sat on the bed next to Will.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Nico sighed and could feel his emotions bubbling up again. He could feel his eyes stinging.

“Hey,” Will said and pulled Nico into a hug. “Like I said before, I’m not going anywhere. Just took a brief vacation is all. Remind me to cross ‘Fields of Punishment’ off our must see list.”

They chuckled again and simply both leaned into the hug.

“Let’s not do this dying thing again,” Nico sighed into Will’s shoulder.

“Promise,” Will answered. “At least we kind of know what Percy’s wizard went through in D&D.”

“Except he was just plain dumb,” Nico chuckled. “Mind if tomorrow is just a relax and do nothing day? Maybe at the beach or in my cabin?”

“Sounds perfect,” Will replied and smiled from ear to ear. “But I think I just need some sleep now, maybe a little ambrosia.” Nico’s stomach growled. “And it sounds like you could use a little food,” Will chuckled.

“I kind of threw up after you died,” Nico sheepishly admitted. He broke off the hug and pushed a bed next to Will’s. “I’ll be right back.” He melted into the shadows and moments later reappeared. He had changed into his pajamas, had Will’s pajamas in his one hand and a plate of food and ambrosia in the other.

Will took his things and got changed in the Infirmary bathroom and they both settled down on their joined beds. They ate some food, drank some water, and then faded off to sleep hand in hand, Nico’s head leaning against Will’s shoulder and Will’s head leaning down on top of Nico’s head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have to say, this week has been so much fun for me! I went from being new to fanfics in general (starting my first one last Christmas) to finding out about shipping weeks last month, to writing my first shipping week this week. I originally didn't intend for my chapters to tie together as much as they do, but I loved how that turned out, except for the first chapter, which kind of pretends ToA didn't happen since I haven't finished that yet. For a general flow chart the chapters flow like this: Free Day - Nightmares/Sleeptalking - Infirmary - Godswap - Sci Fi/Fantasy - Capture the Flag. With Father's Day being its own thing. I am totally planning on doing this again next year.


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